Federal court consolidates GLP-1 stomach injury lawsuits into MDL 3094
Federal GLP-1 stomach injury suits were combined into MDL 3094 in Philadelphia on Feb. 2, 2024; the docket has since grown past 4,000 cases with no settlements or verdicts [1][3].
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated lawsuits claiming that GLP-1 medicines caused gastroparesis (often called stomach paralysis), intestinal obstruction and ileus into a single proceeding, MDL 3094, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Feb. 2, 2024 [1]. The cases involve Novo Nordisk's semaglutide products — Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus — and Eli Lilly's tirzepatide and dulaglutide products, Mounjaro, Zepbound and Trulicity [3].
Consolidation does not decide anything about whether the drugs cause these injuries. It groups similar federal lawsuits before one judge so pretrial work — document exchange, expert testimony fights and scheduling — happens once instead of hundreds of times [2]. Sources differ on the judge: one says the MDL was initially assigned to Judge Pratter [3], while others describe it as proceeding before Judge Karen S. Marston of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who is now overseeing it [1][3].
What the lawsuits claim
The first stomach paralysis lawsuit over Ozempic was filed Aug. 2, 2023 [2]. Plaintiffs allege the manufacturers knew or should have known the drugs could cause severe gastrointestinal injuries and did not adequately warn patients or prescribers [2]. Slowed stomach emptying is a known part of how these drugs work; plaintiffs argue the labels did not warn that this effect could become severe, persistent or pathological [3].
The filings followed regulatory and research activity in 2023. In September 2023, the FDA added an ileus warning to the Ozempic label after 33 blockage reports in semaglutide users and two deaths [4]. In October 2023, a JAMA research letter by Sodhi and colleagues reported that people using GLP-1 drugs for weight loss had roughly 3.67 times the risk of gastroparesis, 4.22 times the risk of bowel obstruction and 9.09 times the risk of pancreatitis compared with a different weight-loss drug [3][4].
The MDL has grown quickly. JPML statistics cited by one tracker show 1,331 pending cases in January 2025 rising to 4,022 by September 2026, with 4,056 total filed [3]. Roughly 75% of complaints allege gastroparesis, 18% ileus and 8% gallbladder injuries [3]. Drugwatch reports the same September 2026 total of 4,022 [2][4].
Why it matters for patients
Nothing in this litigation changes what a drug is approved for or how it is prescribed. As of September 2026, no GLP-1 lawsuit has settled, no case has gone to trial, and no court or jury has found that these medicines caused anyone's injury [1][2][3].
The court has also narrowed what counts as proof. In August 2025, Judge Marston issued a 78-page ruling on gastroparesis diagnosis after more than 3,700 pages of briefing, requiring claims to be backed by an objective gastric emptying study and excluding two of the plaintiffs' diagnostic experts [1][3]. Design-defect theories have been narrowed, leaving the case mainly a failure-to-warn claim [1].
Labeling has shifted too, though sources disagree on timing: one says the Ozempic label was updated in January 2025 to say the drug is "not recommended in patients with severe gastroparesis" [2], while another dates that change to October 2025 [3]. Both agree the label does not say the drug causes gastroparesis [2]. A separate FDA label update added a warning about pulmonary aspiration during general anesthesia because of delayed stomach emptying [3].
Most of the sources describing this litigation are law firm or legal-referral websites that carry attorney advertising [1][2][3].
What happens next
A second MDL, 3163, was created in December 2025 for NAION vision-loss claims and assigned to the same judge; it had about 200 cases by mid-2026 [1][3]. In MDL 3094, the Daubert deadline for challenging expert evidence was April 28, 2026, with summary judgment briefing running through July 2026 [3]. A hearing on the admissibility of the plaintiffs' expert evidence was scheduled for Sept. 14–18, 2026 [1]. Bellwether trial selection was expected around mid-2026, with first trials possible in late 2026 [3]. Outcomes of those steps are not yet known.
Sources
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