The Ozempic lawsuit is a wave of thousands of product liability cases accusing Novo Nordisk, and to a lesser extent Eli Lilly, of failing to warn patients that GLP-1 drugs including Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, Mounjaro, and Trulicity can cause severe stomach paralysis and a form of sudden vision loss. The cases are consolidated in federal court in Philadelphia before Judge Karen Spencer Marston, and as of mid-2026 no settlements have been reached and no trials have taken place.1Motley Rice. Ozempic Lawsuits2Wagstaff Cartmell. GLP-1 Multidistrict Litigation MDL 3094
What the Lawsuits Claim
The core allegation is straightforward: the manufacturers knew or should have known these drugs carried risks of severe, sometimes permanent injury, and did not say so on the label. The complaints break into three injury tracks.
Gastroparesis and Severe Gastrointestinal Injury
Most plaintiffs allege that semaglutide and related GLP-1 drugs caused gastroparesis, a condition in which the stomach loses its ability to empty food and which can be permanent. Reported injuries include persistent vomiting lasting weeks or longer, severe abdominal pain, intestinal blockage (ileus), malnutrition, hospitalization, surgery, and in some cases lasting disability.3Drugwatch. Ozempic Lawsuit
Plaintiffs argue that while Ozempic’s label mentioned “delayed gastric emptying” as a pharmacological effect, it never identified gastroparesis as a clinical risk. The FDA added a warning about ileus to the Ozempic label in September 2023 after roughly 20 adverse event reports including two deaths, and updated it again in January 2025 to warn of “severe gastrointestinal adverse reactions.” Even now, the label does not say Ozempic can cause gastroparesis; it says only that the drug is “not recommended in patients with severe gastroparesis.”3Drugwatch. Ozempic Lawsuit4diatribe.org. FDA Updates Ozempic Label Warning Intestinal Blockages
A 2023 study in JAMA analyzing data from 16 million patients found GLP-1 users had about 3.7 times the risk of gastroparesis, 4.2 times the risk of bowel obstruction, and 9 times the risk of pancreatitis compared with users of the weight-loss drug bupropion-naltrexone.5JAMA Network. Risk of Gastrointestinal Adverse Events Associated With GLP-1 Receptor Agonists for Weight Loss The FDA has said it has received reports of gastroparesis in semaglutide users but cannot confirm the drug directly caused them.6Gastroenterology Advisor. What We Know About Semaglutide Adverse Events and Gastroparesis
Sudden Vision Loss (NAION)
A newer group of claims alleges semaglutide can cause non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, sometimes described as an eye stroke that produces sudden, permanent vision loss. A July 2024 study by researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, found diabetic patients on semaglutide were about four times more likely to be diagnosed with NAION than those on other diabetes medications, and overweight or obese patients on semaglutide were roughly seven times more likely to develop it than those on alternative weight-loss treatments.7JAMA Network. Risk of Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy in Patients Prescribed Semaglutide
In June 2025, the European Medicines Agency’s safety committee concluded NAION is a “very rare” side effect of semaglutide, affecting up to one in 10,000 patients, and required EU labels to be updated.8European Medicines Agency. PRAC Concludes Eye Condition NAION Very Rare Side Effect of Semaglutide Medicines The UK’s MHRA issued similar guidance in February 2026.9UK Government. Semaglutide: Risk of Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy
Gallbladder Injuries
A smaller number of plaintiffs allege semaglutide caused gallbladder disease, gallstones, or the need for gallbladder removal. A 2022 meta-analysis of 76 studies in JAMA linked GLP-1 drug use to gallbladder disease, and nearly half of documented cases developed within 90 days of starting treatment.10InjuryLawyer.com. Ozempic Class Action Lawsuit
Which Drugs and Patients the Cases Cover
The litigation covers all of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide products, Ozempic (injectable, type 2 diabetes), Wegovy (injectable, weight management), and Rybelsus (oral, type 2 diabetes), along with Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Trulicity. It does not matter whether the drug was prescribed for diabetes or for weight loss; what matters is whether the patient developed a qualifying injury while using one of these medications.11Motley Rice. Wegovy vs. Ozempic Lawsuits
Not everyone with symptoms qualifies. To bring a gastroparesis claim in the MDL, a plaintiff must now produce a properly performed gastric emptying study, either scintigraphy, a breath test, or a wireless motility capsule. Clinical symptoms alone are not enough. For NAION claims, ophthalmologic examination and specialized ocular imaging are required. Patients who obtained semaglutide from compounding pharmacies, weight-loss spas, or other non-FDA-approved sources generally do not qualify. Prior gastric surgery or concurrent chemotherapy can also make causation difficult to prove.12TruLaw. Filing an Ozempic Lawsuit Legal Process and Eligibility
Where the Litigation Stands
In February 2024, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation created MDL No. 3094, In re: Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) Products Liability Litigation, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. As of April 2026, more than 4,700 civil actions were pending in that MDL.2Wagstaff Cartmell. GLP-1 Multidistrict Litigation MDL 3094
An MDL is not a class action. Each plaintiff keeps an individual lawsuit and individual damages; the cases are grouped only to make pretrial work like discovery and expert challenges more efficient.
Federal NAION claims were split off in late 2025 into a separate proceeding, MDL No. 3163, In Re: GLP-1 Receptor Agonists NAION Products Liability Litigation, also before Judge Marston. That docket held 86 cases as of June 2026, with a plaintiffs’ leadership structure appointed in March 2026 and a “Science Day” on NAION diagnostic criteria scheduled for June 2, 2026.13TorHoerman Law. Ozempic Lawsuit14Robert King Law Firm. GLP-1 NAION MDL 3163 Science Day Order
Two rulings so far have shaped the cases most. In August 2025, Judge Marston denied the drugmakers’ motion to dismiss, letting the central claims move forward.15Seeger Weiss. Ozempic GLP-1 Lawsuit The same month, the court issued the diagnostic testing ruling that now requires a gastric emptying study for any gastroparesis claim, excluding two plaintiffs’ experts who argued the diagnosis could be made from clinical symptoms alone.16U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. MDL 3094 Order on Gastroparesis Diagnostic Testing
Summary judgment briefing began April 30, 2026, and is expected to continue through July 2026. Bellwether trial selection in MDL 3094 is expected around mid-2026, with the first trials possible in late 2026.17MDL Update. MDL 3094 Status
No global settlement has been announced. Legal analysts have estimated Novo Nordisk’s total exposure at $2 billion or more, with speculative per-case ranges from roughly $50,000 to $150,000 for milder resolved gastrointestinal injuries up to $500,000 to $2 million or more for permanent gastroparesis or significant vision loss. Those numbers are guesses until bellwether verdicts anchor them.18Spencer Law. Ozempic Lawsuit 2026 MDR Updates Eligibility Settlements
How Novo Nordisk Is Defending
Novo Nordisk denies wrongdoing. It points to more than 15 years of clinical use of GLP-1 medications and over 9.5 million patient-years of real-world exposure, and argues that gastrointestinal side effects are well-known class effects that are usually mild to moderate and short in duration and already appear on drug labels.19The Indiana Lawyer. Lilly, Novo Nordisk Sued for Alleged Failure to Warn About Severe Side Effects of Popular Diabetes Drugs
The company’s main legal defense is federal preemption. Because the FDA reviewed and approved the labels, Novo Nordisk argues, state-law failure-to-warn claims are preempted, and plaintiffs would need “clear evidence” that the FDA would have rejected a stronger warning, the standard the Supreme Court set in Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (2019). Plaintiffs respond that under the FDA’s “changes being effected” regulation, a manufacturer can strengthen a warning without prior FDA approval when it has new safety information, and that Novo Nordisk should have done so rather than waiting for the agency.20U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. MDL 3094 Case Management Order No. 18
Deadlines to File
Statutes of limitations for these claims typically run two to three years from the date a patient discovered, or should have discovered, that their injury was connected to the medication. The exact deadline depends on the state, and it is enforced strictly. If you took one of these drugs and were later diagnosed with gastroparesis, NAION, or another serious injury described here, the diagnostic records you will need to join the MDL, a confirmed gastric emptying study for gastroparesis or ocular imaging for NAION, are the same records a plaintiffs’ firm will ask for at intake.