1. Q. Among many Accutane side effects, which ones may lead to a law firm accepting my Accutane case?
A. Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency basis and are not paid until and unless a client’s case wins in court or via an out of court settlement. At such a time, a law firm may receive a percentage of the jury award or settlement. By working on this basis, personal injury lawyers tend to take catastrophic cases which could yield significant financial compensation for their clients. That’s why you may be most likely to have a law firm accept your Accutane case if it involves a debilitating and serious bowel disease such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, and if you’ve had major surgery as a result, such as colon removal.

2. Q. Would my IBS provide impetus for a lawsuit?
A. IBS, or irritable bowel syndrome, is not as serious of an Accutane injury as IBD, or inflammatory bowel disease. A law firm is not as likely to take your case if that is the extent of your Accutane injury.

3. Q. I took Accutane over a decade ago and haven’t taken it since then. Could a statute of limitations prevent me from filing an Accutane lawsuit?
A. Not necessarily. Most states have a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury cases, meaning you must seek legal remedy within two years after an injury occurs. But Accutane users were not warned about such dangers when they took the drug, nor did it become widely known until recent court actions and publicity that an acne medication could lead to bowel disease. Thus, victims couldn’t be expected to be aware until recently of the cause of their injury. That’s why juries are allowing a “discovery” rule, which holds that statutes of limitations don’t apply until a victim learns that an injury was caused by a harmful drug.

4. Q. I didn’t suffer Crohn’s disease until several years after my doctor prescribed Accutane for me. Will that hamper my Accutane lawsuit prospects?
A. That depends on the exact number of years that have passed. Some personal injury firms are reluctant to accept defective drug cases when the injury occurs more than five years after the patient took the drug.

5. Q. How successful have Accutane lawsuits been so far?
A. Very successful. Already, six Accutane cases have produced jury awards unanimously favoring victims with a total of over $56 million in awards. A single case involving an Alabama man led to a jury award of more than $25 million for his Accutane injury which required his colon to be surgically removed.

6. Q. I’ve heard of punitive damages and compensatory damages. Which ones are being applied for Accutane?
A. Damages so far have been compensatory, in order to compensate victims for medical costs, lost wages and other expenses associated with their Accutane injury. Punitive damages, on the other hand, involve punishing defendants rather than compensating victims for financial losses. Such punitive damages have not been awarded yet for Accutane.

7. Q. Why is Accutane’s manufacturer losing in court?
A. First, Roche Pharmaceuticals created a bad product, and now it’s paying a price. Juries also believe Roche was well aware that Accutane was harmful but kept selling it out of greed, since it was reaping billions in profits for the defective drug. Finally, juries also believe Roche failed to make potential Accutane users aware of possible harm from the drug.

8. Q. I’ve noticed several Accutane trials have been held in New Jersey. Why is this, and how will it affect my lawsuit? I’d rather not have to travel.
A. Roche is a Swiss company, and its American headquarters is in New Jersey, which is why Accutane lawsuits are clustered there. But persons from other states may be able to provide depositions videotaped where they live. Beyond that, most lawsuits for personal injury are settled out of court, and plaintiffs need not appear.

9. Q. I’d rather my Accutane lawsuit not become part of a massive class-action suit where I have little control. Could this happen?
A. Not necessarily. While it is your right to pursue a class-action suit, it’s also your right to file an individual Accutane lawsuit. Most law firms, including Jim S. Adler & Associates, are filing these as individual claims and not as class actions.

10. Q. I heard that Roche removed Accutane from the market, though generics remain available. Since I took Accutane, could that hurt my lawsuit’s chances?
A. Not at all. Roche’s recall of Accutane is basically an admission that the drug is defective, though it claims it did this in part due to increased competition from generic Accutane such as Sotret, Claravis and Amnesteem. More likely, Roche realized its legal exposure would grow as more Accutane injuries occurred, so it stopped selling the product in America (but not in some other countries). Yet whether it still sells Accutane or not, Roche is responsible for the injuries it has caused. Meanwhile, companies which produce generic Accutane that's still on the market also are responsible for the injuries their drugs cause.