In light of the facts raised in the lawsuit and the general issues of law, the US Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) appointed U.S. District Court Senior Judge Dennis L. Appointed Court to transfer claims brought by families across the country to the Southern District of New. York. Claims for coordinated discoveries to a series of co-published early “pioneer” trials.
On December 23, Judge Court issued an order appointing Randy S. Ellis, Special Master (PDF) of the Tylenol MDL (Multidistrict Litigation), to oversee the census of all claims. Ellis is a widely recognized Dispute Resolution Consulting Attorney serving thousands of paraquats.
“The Census Special Master shall consult with the Plaintiff’s Co-Chief Counsel and members of the Defendant’s leadership individually or, at her discretion, together and make reports and recommendations, including proposed orders for the preparation of the Census. and,” Judge Court wrote. “These recommendations include (a) identification of the database platform that will host the census; (b) what data and documents should be collected regarding the cases submitted and the means by which the data and documents will be collected; discussion of how to most effectively conduct the Census, including discussion of, the timing of collection, and the means of maintaining this database;(c) a draft order regarding the form of the Census and the obligations of parties with respect to the Census; “
On the same day, Judge Court issued an order (PDF) adopting the defendants’ proposed plan for coordinating the discovery process at the MDL, asking the parties to negotiate a single joint coordinating order. Questions and disagreements regarding orders will be discussed at the next conference call scheduled for January 6, 2023.
January 2023 Tylenol Autism Lawsuit Update
To help manage the rapidly expanding lawsuit, Judge Court last month appointed a group of Tylenol autism attorneys to serve in various leadership roles. However, each family will maintain its own attorney to establish that the child’s ADHD or autism diagnosis was caused by Tylenol use during pregnancy.
Following the completion of the census on all claims and the coordinated discovery of problems common to all claims, Judge Court is expected to establish a “Trailblazer” program in 2023. It helps parties assess how jurors will react to specific evidence of links between acetaminophen and autism, ADHD, and other developmental delays.
Obtaining details about all Tylenol claims being pursued by families of children diagnosed with autism and ADHD will help courts develop plans to prepare representative claim groups. The results of these early lead trials are not binding on other plaintiffs, but will be closely monitored and will have a significant impact on future Tylenol autism or ADHD settlement amounts offered to settle claims. may give
Ultimately, if the parties are unable to settle their claims during a coordinated pretrial proceeding before Judge Corté, each family’s individual claims will be filed in U.S. District Courts across the country for another future trial date. It may be remanded to court.
