Austin Man Sues Drug Company and Casino for Gambling Addiction

The wild-wild-world of pharmaceutical product liability litigation took another odd step forward this week as a retired doctor from Austin filed suit in federal court charging that a drug company and some enabling casinos led to a gambling problem that cost the man more than $14 million.

Max Wells, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, was prescribed Requip to counteract symptoms of the neurodegenerative disease. But Wells' suit claims there is one thing he didn't know about the drug. It causes compulsive behavior. The suit cites a 2005 Mayo Clinic that showed that test subjects who took Requip exhibited signs of compulsive gambling behavior. Wells ended up losing millions of dollars in Vegas at multiple casinos, including Mandalay Bay, Treasure Island, Bellagio, Wynn Las Vegas, Harrah's and Hard Rock. The casinos are included in the suit for exacerbating Wells' gambling problem by giving him perks, including first-class airfare, an Alaskan cruise and comp'd rooms.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Wells' case. Is there enough proof that the drug causes compulsive addictions? Did they warn customers properly? Where does personal responsibility enter into the mix?

Doctors, pharm. corps. and lawyers, oh my!

*Image (c) of el vacano on Flickr*