Have you seen a commercial on TV talking about the link between Actos and bladder cancer, but you don’t know what to do next? Frustrated by dozens of websites that all look the same and don’t tell you anything useful? Let me help, in three easy steps.

 

(1) The Only Way To File An Actos Claim Is To Bring A Lawsuit

 

Some of the Actos lawyer advertisements talk about “filing an Actos claim.” At the moment, there’s no Actos claim process, and no Actos class action. The only way to seek compensation from Takeda Pharmaceuticals for developing bladder cancer after taking Actos is to file a lawsuit.

Which means you’re going to need a lawyer.

 

(2) Most Of The Lawyers Advertising For Actos Clients Aren’t Actually Filing Actos Lawsuits

 

Serious personal injury and wrongful death cases — including Actos bladder cancer claims — frequently work through a “referral” relationship, where the lawyer the client contacted helps set up the client with another lawyer to actually file and pursue the lawsuit. Most of the firms you see advertising for Actos cases on TV or the internet aren’t actually litigating the cases, they’re referring them to other lawyers, for a portion of the contingent fee recovery at the end.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The fee percentage for the client isn’t different in a referral relationship, and sometimes those ads on TV will refer you to top-shelf, excellent lawyers, while the referral lawyer also keeps an eye on the case and can give you a second opinion on issues — like whether or not to settle, and for how much — when you need it. Unfortunately, though, sometimes those TV ads refer you to terrible lawyers who aren’t interested in fighting for full compensation for the client and so try compromise their clients’ cases for a quick settlement.

So how can you tell which lawyers to go with?

 

(3) How To Choose An Actos Lawyer: Look For Court Appointments And Trial Experience

 

Finding a good lawyer is unfortunately just like finding a good doctor or mechanic: most of what they do is either very technical and filled with jargon, or it happens outside of the awareness of the patient or client. Nonetheless, as a trial lawyer who has successfully represented many clients with serious injury or wrongful death claims, I can tell you that two factors are important and can usually be determined from the lawyer’s website.

First, some red flags. All good Actos lawyers work on an entirely contingent fee, where you don’t pay them anything, and they’re compensated out of the settlement or verdict. If a lawyer asks for you to pay anything, walk away. Similarly, if a lawyer demands you sign a contingent fee agreement before they’ll look at your records or tell you what they think of your case, walk away. We don’t make clients sign fee agreements until they’re comfortable with us and we’ve told them we believe they may have a case.

Second, experience. A lot of lawyers can claim they’ve worked in drug and pharmaceutical liability cases for years – I certainly have, and I review drug cases every day – but when I talk about experience in drug cases I mean experience either serving on one of the court-appointed “steering committees” in a major drug case or in taking drug cases to trial.

Third, willingness to take cases to trial. Insurance companies and drug companies offer settlements to almost everyone who fits the general criteria of serious mass torts claims. But they don’t offer much. To get full and adequate compensation, the company needs to recognize that the lawyers representing the client are willing and able to take the case to a jury trial, where the case could result in a much larger verdict, like how the Vioxx cases produced several multi-million-dollar verdicts.

 

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