Michael J. Sacopulos, Esq.

A federal jury on Thursday awarded 67-year old Douglas Ray Jr. of Fredericksburg, VA a $212 million verdict. This award included $200 million in punitive damages against Allergan. Ray Jr. claimed injections of the wrinkle-smoothing drug Botox to treat hand tremors and writer’s cramp left him brain-damaged and disabled.

Douglas’s wife said that her husband of 43 years requires around-the-clock care. She has in-home nursing help four hours a day, four days a week. Douglas’s wife also said she is grateful for doctors who testified for her husband.

A company spokesperson for Allergan who manufactured the Botox said the verdict “is inconsistent with the credible scientific and medical evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of Botox,” which she said has been used for two decades to treat 21 separate medical conditions.

She also said that under Virginia law, the punitive damages will be capped at $350,000. Ray’s attorney, Ray Chester of Austin, Tex., said he would challenge the cap.

Chester said he thought the jury was most swayed by evidence that Allergan sent a letter to doctors in Europe warning them about dangers of Botox in June 2007 “but decided not to notify the U.S. doctors because they didn’t want to hurt sales in their biggest market.” Ray became ill the following month, Chester said.

Plaintiff attorneys can smell blood in the water. Given the size of the award, be on the lookout for more Botox related cases.

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