Semaglutide and tirzepatide injury lawsuits set September 2026 expert-evidence hearing
A federal judge has scheduled the September 2026 hearing that will decide whether expert testimony linking GLP-1 drugs to stomach injuries can reach a jury.
A case-management order entered April 30, 2026 sets the expert-evidence schedule that will decide the direction of the federal litigation over gastrointestinal injuries allegedly caused by GLP-1 drugs, including semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) [1][2].
Case Management Order 32, the Fifth Amended Scheduling Order for Cross-Cutting Issues 2 and 3, extended the deadlines for Rule 702 challenges to expert testimony and for summary-judgment motions on warning adequacy, federal preemption and general causation [1][2]. The court has treated those three questions as cross-cutting since Case Management Order 18 in August 2024, so rulings on them could reach many individual lawsuits at once rather than one case at a time [2].
The Rule 702 hearing window is in September 2026. Reports on the order list the window as September 10 through 18, 2026 [1][2]. A separate listing on the court's MDL 3094 page puts the hearing at September 14 through 18, 2026 [1]. The difference between the two listings has not been explained.
MDL 3094, In re: Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) Products Liability Litigation, is before Judge Karen S. Marston in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania [1][2]. It consolidates individual claims that GLP-1 drugs caused gastroparesis, ileus, bowel obstruction and other gastrointestinal injuries, and that the manufacturers did not adequately warn about those risks [1][2].
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's June 1, 2026 statistics report lists 3,763 cases pending, with 3,797 filed since the litigation was centralized in February 2024 [1]. A July 1, 2026 report lists 3,848 cases pending, up from 3,763 a month earlier [2]. The two accounts give different figures for April 1, 2026: 3,546 [1] and 3,363 [2].
The products named in the litigation include Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, Victoza and Saxenda from Novo Nordisk, and Mounjaro, Zepbound and Trulicity from Eli Lilly [1][2]. Mounjaro and Zepbound contain tirzepatide; Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus contain semaglutide [1][2]. The claims are allegations: no court has found the manufacturers liable, no class has been certified and no settlement has been announced [1][2].
On August 15, 2025, Judge Marston required any plaintiff alleging drug-induced gastroparesis to show the diagnosis rested on a properly performed gastric emptying study — by scintigraphy, breath testing or wireless motility capsule — that confirmed delayed emptying [1][2]. That order raised the evidentiary bar for keeping those cases in the MDL [1].
Why it matters for patients
The September hearing is where the court will test whether plaintiffs' experts may tell a jury that GLP-1 drugs are capable of causing these injuries [2]. If the experts are excluded, large parts of the litigation could be dismissed; if the opinions survive, the cases move on to summary judgment and eventually to test trials [2].
A separate question is federal preemption. Because these are brand-name drugs with FDA-approved labels, the court will weigh whether federal law blocks state-law failure-to-warn claims [2]. Plaintiffs contend conditions such as gastroparesis were not specifically warned about, while the labels have long listed some gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea and vomiting [2].
There is nothing to claim now. MDL 3094 has no settlement, no certified class and no claim form, and injury cases are individual lawsuits filed through retained counsel rather than claims submitted to a fund [1][2]. Vision-loss claims are not part of this MDL; they sit in a separate proceeding, MDL 3163, which had 110 pending cases as of June 1, 2026 [1][2].
What happens next
Opening briefs on the cross-cutting issues were due May 19, 2026, with opposition and reply briefing running through the summer [2]. Status conferences are set for June 23, July 14, Oct. 13, Nov. 17 and Dec. 15, 2026 [1]. No bellwether trial date has been set, and the first trials would realistically come in 2027 at the earliest if the litigation survives the September rulings [2].
Sources
Semaglutides.org provides information only, not medical advice. Talk to a licensed provider about your own care before making changes. Some telehealth links are affiliate links and are labeled where they appear.