Litigation in the pending Zantac Cancer lawsuits is set to begin in California around October 2022, if judges find sufficient evidence to initiate legal action. Over 100,000 cases have been filed in which plaintiffs allege that higher-than-acceptable levels of NMDA in the product resulted in a cancer diagnosis. 

Prosecutors and defense counsel submitted scientific evidence to back up their assertions about Zantac in December of 2021. Under multidistrict litigation, U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg in Florida presided over the discovery period. Rather of having each individual case go to trial, MDL permits cases to be resolved under one large umbrella. 

Trials in California will be combined and overseen by the Judicial Council Coordinated Proceedings (JCCP). The Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, has been entrusted with managing the state’s litigation procedures, and will be led by Judge Winifred Y. Smith. Judge Smith is best known for ruling over the $2 billion Roundup lawsuit. 

A similar procedure will be followed for federal trials, which are set to begin in 2023. These actions are not now part of a class-action suit, and the state-level proceedings will ideally result in a high settlement sum to avoid future litigation. 

NDMA, also known as N-Nitrosodimethylamine, was discovered in alarmingly high concentrations in the common heartburn reliever Zantac, according to a 2018 FDA warning. 

Although the product was below the FDA’s recommended limits at the time of manufacture, the data indicated that when the product stayed on the shelf for a longer period of time, the concentration of the product increased. This is why it is critical to store pharmaceuticals at the correct temperature and to discard any unused items when they reach the end of their expiration date. 

Since then, the FDA has pulled the product off the shelves and banned it from being sold in the United States, but unsurprisingly, it is already too little, too late in this case. 

N-nitrosodimethylamine is a recognized potential carcinogen. In other words, it has knowingly caused cancer in animals and has a high probability of causing cancer in humans. Since 2018, thousands of patients have come forward to allege that using Zantac was a contributing factor to their diagnosis of cancer. 

The cancer diagnosis covered by these lawsuits are currently five different types of cancer. Lung, liver, esophagus, stomach, and bladder cancers are among the most common. If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with one of these conditions as a result of using Zantac, you may be eligible to file a Zantac lawsuit and be awarded compensation for your suffering. 

Several plaintiffs have taken up the claim that drug companies and distributors intentionally promoted a dangerous product to consumers, and they are attempting to hold them financially responsible. While payout amounts are unknown, and the outcome of one lawsuit does not necessarily predict the outcome of subsequent lawsuits, suing as part of a larger group is more likely to result in a significant settlement amount because the drug manufacturer will want to avoid being forced to participate in thousands of distinct lawsuits.