Steven Casey, Chris Heinss and Lindsey Reese Obtained a Defense Verdict in Jefferson County Circuit Court

Steven F. Casey, Chris Heinss and Lindsey Reese obtained a defense verdict in Jefferson County Circuit Court in Birmingham, Alabama, in what is believed to be the first metoclopramide case that has been tried in the country. In a failure to warn case against a generic manufacturer of this drug (the brand name is Reglan), a nine year old child with autism spectrum disorder experienced the symptoms of a known side effect, tardive dyskinesia (a serious movement disorder), after taking the drug for over six months in 2004. Plaintiff also experienced cognitive regression, which his experts linked to the drug. The trial judge ultimately refused the defense motion in limine to exclude evidence of an FDA-mandated black box warning of the side effect in 2009--five years after the plaintiff took the drug--and plaintiff's experts provided testimony that the drug rendered him unable to care for himself or live alone or ever hold down a job. After two full weeks of trial, the jury returned a verdict for our client, the generic manufacturer of the drug, after only an hour-and-a-half of deliberation.