Jensen v. Bayer AG

862 N.E.2d 1091, 308 Ill. Dec. 888, 371 Ill. App. 3d 682
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided February 2, 2007·No. 1-04-3879·Published·Cited by 23 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE O’MALLEY

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, James Jensen, purchased and used Baycol, which his doctor prescribed to him to lower his cholesterol. Thereafter, defendant Bayer Corporation, manufacturer of Baycol, discontinued the marketing and distribution of Baycol. 1 The plaintiff then brought an action against defendant on behalf of himself and later filed an amended motion for class certification. Plaintiff, in his motion for class certification, asserted claims sounding in consumer fraud, breach of implied warranty, and medical monitoring, regarding the manufacturing, marketing and sale of Baycol. The trial court denied plaintiffs motion for class certification, granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs individual claims, and denied plaintiffs motion for reconsideration for the same. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On August 8, 2001, defendant issued a statement announcing the removal of Baycol from the market, which stated, in relevant part, the following:

“Rhabdomyolysis is a serious, potentially fatal, adverse effect of all statin drugs, including Baycol. They can occur with statin mono-therapy, although the risk appears to be increased significantly by concomitant use of gemfibrozil (Lopid).
Our ongoing scrutiny of post marketing reports of rhabdomyolysis, including fatalities, has revealed an increased reporting rate of rhabdomyolysis with Baycol relative to other statins, especially when gemfibrozil is co-prescribed. These data also suggest an increased reporting rate of rhabdomyolysis at the 0.8 mg dose of Baycol alone.
* * *
Effective immediately, Bayer has discontinued the marketing and distribution of all dosage strengths of Baycol. Patients who are currently taking Baycol should have their Baycol discontinued and be switched to an alternative therapy.” (Emphasis in original.)

Plaintiff, who consumed Baycol to lower his cholesterol, filed a complaint on behalf of himself against defendants on August 15, 2001. Thereafter, plaintiff filed an amended motion for class certification. Plaintiff alleged, inter alia, that: (1) defendant violated section 2 of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (Act) (815 ILCS 505/2 (West 2002)) by “misrepresenting, concealing and/or omitting” information concerning the adverse health effects of Baycol; (2) defendant breached an implied warranty to plaintiff that Baycol was fit for its ordinary purpose, “that being to provide safe and effective treatment for high cholesterol”; and (3) defendant’s product subjected plaintiff to unnecessary future health risks such as rhabdomyolysis and that such health risks required medical monitoring.

On August 29, 2003, plaintiff gave his deposition testimony. Plaintiff stated that after he suffered a heart attack, his doctor prescribed Baycol to plaintiff to lower his cholesterol. He took this medication between May 2000 and August 2001. Plaintiff stated that he cannot recall if he read any literature concerning Baycol. He never read any articles about Baycol, either on the Internet or in any newspapers. Nor did he read the labeling or package insert for Baycol. Plaintiff testified that he did not rely on any documents when making his decision to take Baycol. Rather, he just “trusted his doctor.”

Plaintiff stated that at the time he took Baycol, he worked as a mechanic in “hangar maintenance.” In this position, plaintiff often climbed ladders, lifted items, and “maintained” his building. Plaintiff stated that he did not seek compensation for lost wages. He stated that the pain he suffered from Baycol may have caused him to be less productive at work, but it did not cause him to miss work. Specifically, plaintiff stated that he suffered pain in his “calves and legs.” This pain went away, according to plaintiff, when his doctor switched his prescription to Zocor and defendant simultaneously stopped taking Baycol. Plaintiff testified that his wife, not his doctor, told him to stop taking Baycol. He further testified that no doctors ever informed him that his leg pains were caused by Baycol. He stated that he never asked a doctor whether his leg pains were caused by Baycol because he “drew this conclusion himself.” Plaintiff also never asked his doctor why Baycol had been withdrawn from the market. Plaintiff further testified that he is not aware of any increased risk to his future health from his prior use of Baycol, and that he has not asked his doctors about this matter. He also testified that he has no reason to believe that his future health is at risk from his consumption of Baycol.

Only two deposition testimonies from medical professionals appear in the record, Dr. Robert Duncan and Dr. Jogi Nareddy. These two physicians, called by defendant, treated plaintiff after he sustained a heart attack. Dr. Duncan stated that plaintiff informed him at plaintiffs initial visit that, because of a prior heart attack, plaintiff was taking a regimen of aspirin, Altace, and Zocor. Dr. Duncan further stated that one of the side effects of Zocor is an increased risk of rhabdomyolysis, which, according to Dr. Duncan, is a “breakdown of muscle, releasing myoglobin into the bloodstream in its most severe cases.” He further stated that: “Myoglobin is toxic to certain organs, in particular the kidneys. In severe cases of rhabdomyolysis, you can undergo renal failure, [and] require dialysis. In less severe cases, you may have myalgia or muscle aches associated with it.” Dr. Duncan further stated that Zocor was a member of the statin class of drugs. All statin drugs carry the risk of rhabdomyolysis according to Dr. Duncan. He nevertheless prescribes statin drugs because, in his view, “[t]he benefits of lowering cholesterol way outweigh the risks of a very, very rare event taking place, which would be rhabdomyolysis or other aches and pains, which people can normally tolerate.” Dr. Duncan stated that though he was not aware that plaintiff formerly took Baycol while under another physician’s care, this fact did not alter or change the way he treated plaintiff. He stated that Baycol was a member of the statin class of drugs, which many of his patients were on prior to its removal from the market. He stated that he would have prescribed a nonstatin drug to plaintiff if his liver function tests were not within normal range. This was not the case, however. Dr. Duncan also stated that myopathy and rhabdomyolysis are risks that are manifested when a patient takes medication from the statin class. These conditions, however, go away when treatment is discontinued, according to Dr. Duncan.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Jensen v. Bayer AG, 862 N.E.2d 1091, 308 Ill. Dec. 888, 371 Ill. App. 3d 682 (Ill. Ct. App. 2007).

862 N.E.2d 1091 (Jensen v. Bayer AG) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Berry v. City of Chicago
2019 IL App (1st) 180871 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2019)
Mehr v. Féderation Internationale de Football Ass'n
115 F. Supp. 3d 1035 (N.D. California, 2015)
Reid v. Unilever United States, Inc.
964 F. Supp. 2d 893 (N.D. Illinois, 2013)
McCabe v. Daimler AG
948 F. Supp. 2d 1347 (N.D. Georgia, 2013)
Wiegel v. Stork Craft Manufacturing, Inc.
946 F. Supp. 2d 804 (N.D. Illinois, 2013)
Budnick Converting, Inc. v. Nebula Glass International, Inc.
866 F. Supp. 2d 976 (S.D. Illinois, 2012)
Cwik v. Topinka
905 N.E.2d 300 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2009)
Jones v. Nissan North America
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2008
Jones v. Nissan North America, Inc.
895 N.E.2d 303 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2008)
Stella v. LVMH Perfumes and Cosmetics USA, Inc.
564 F. Supp. 2d 833 (N.D. Illinois, 2008)
Compton v. Country Mutual Insurance
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2008
Gates v. Rohm and Haas Co.
618 F. Supp. 2d 362 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2007)
De Bouse v. Bayer AG
869 N.E.2d 365 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2007)
De Bouse v. Bayer
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2007