Canadians could get part of proposed settlement in prescription antibiotics class action

If you’ve had to take antibiotics to stave off a bacterial infection, you might be able to cash in on a proposed settlement.

On Friday, BC-based law firm Dusevic and Garcha announced a Canada-wide settlement has been reached in a proposed class action relating to fluoroquinolone prescription drugs Levaquin, Cipro, and Avelox.

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics are used to treat certain kinds of bacterial infections in adults including respiratory tract, urinary tract, and skin infections.

The class-action lawsuit alleges that “Cipro, Avelox, and/or Levaquin are unfit for use, and/or unsuitable to be marketed and sold to treat infections for which they are not required and lacked proper warnings and directions as to the dangers associated with all of their uses.”

antibiotics

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Janssen Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Janssen Research & Development, LLC and Bayer Inc. are the defendants in the class action.

According to the law firm, a hearing to approve the settlement has been scheduled for November 1, 2024, at 10 am PT in the Supreme Court of BC.

If it’s approved, those eligible will be residents in Canada (excluding those in Quebec) who were prescribed and/or ingested Levaquin, Cipro or Avelox in Canada at any time on or before the date of the certification order, which was June 13, 2024.

In addition, anyone who had a personal relationship with people who were prescribed the antibiotics and/or ingested them and have claims for common law or statutory damages will be eligible to claim part of the settlement.

If you think you’re eligible for the settlement, the law firm says you don’t need to do anything at this time.

“If the settlement is approved by the Court mentioned above, another notice will be published, and additional information will be provided on how to make a claim,” reads a news release.

Another settlement that was recently announced is the $500 million Loblaw bread price-fixing settlement. Read more about it here.

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