What Is the Ozempic or GLP-1 Lawsuit?

Official sources: U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania | U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Litigation status reviewed: August 2026

What are the Ozempic and GLP-1 lawsuits?

The litigation involves personal injury lawsuits concerning a class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, or GLP-1 RAs.

These medications are used for purposes including the treatment of type 2 diabetes and, depending on the specific drug and FDA-approved indication, chronic weight management and other conditions.

The litigation is broader than Ozempic alone.

The federal court identifies drugs involved in the gastrointestinal litigation including:

• Ozempic
• Wegovy
• Rybelsus
• Trulicity
• Mounjaro

The gastrointestinal MDL involves products manufactured by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Plaintiffs allege that the drugs can cause certain serious gastrointestinal injuries and that manufacturers failed to adequately warn about alleged risks. The defendants deny these allegations.

A separate federal MDL now addresses allegations that certain GLP-1 medications caused non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).

What is Ozempic?

Ozempic is the brand name for semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist manufactured by Novo Nordisk.

It is an injectable prescription medication approved by the FDA for specific uses in adults with type 2 diabetes, including improving blood sugar control. Its FDA-approved uses have expanded over time.

Semaglutide is also the active ingredient in other Novo Nordisk medications, including Wegovy and Rybelsus, but these are separate products with their own FDA-approved uses, formulations, dosing, and labeling.

Ozempic has become closely associated with GLP-1 litigation in public discussion, but the federal litigation includes several medications—not only Ozempic.

What injuries are alleged in the gastrointestinal GLP-1 litigation?

The federal court has identified alleged injuries discussed in the gastrointestinal litigation including:

• Gastroparesis
• Ileus
• Intestinal obstruction
• Gallbladder disease
• Gallstones
• Severe gastrointestinal disease
• Deep vein thrombosis
• Malnutrition as a secondary condition

These are allegations in litigation, and the presence of one of these conditions does not establish that a GLP-1 medication caused it.

The court specifically identified these conditions as medical and scientific issues addressed during its Science Day proceedings.

What is gastroparesis?

Gastroparesis is a condition in which the stomach empties more slowly than it should even though there is no physical blockage preventing food from leaving the stomach.

Symptoms can include:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Feeling full soon after beginning a meal
• Feeling full long after eating
• Abdominal discomfort
• Difficulty maintaining adequate nutrition

Gastroparesis is one of the central alleged gastrointestinal injuries in MDL 3094.

A diagnosis of gastroparesis does not, by itself, establish that a GLP-1 medication caused the condition.

What do plaintiffs allege about GLP-1 medications?

Plaintiffs in the gastrointestinal litigation generally allege that the manufacturers knew or should have known that their GLP-1 products could cause gastroparesis or other gastrointestinal injuries and failed to provide adequate warnings.

The federal court describes common factual issues as including:

• Whether the products can cause the alleged gastrointestinal injuries.
• Whether manufacturers knew or should have known about the alleged risks.
• Whether warnings to patients and prescribing physicians were adequate.
• Whether representations about the products' safety were false, misleading, or incomplete.

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly deny the allegations.

Is there an Ozempic MDL?

Yes, but calling it simply the "Ozempic MDL" leaves out an important part of the story.

There are now two federal multidistrict litigations involving GLP-1 medications.

MDL 3094 — Gastrointestinal injuries

In re: Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) Products Liability Litigation (GI Injuries)

MDL No. 3094

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation centralized these cases in February 2024. They involve allegations concerning gastrointestinal injuries associated with GLP-1 medications.

MDL 3163 — NAION and vision injuries

In re: Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (NAION) Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 3163

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

The JPML created this separate MDL in December 2025. The transfer order identified lawsuits alleging that Ozempic, Wegovy, Saxenda, or Trulicity caused plaintiffs to develop NAION.

Both MDLs are assigned to Judge Karen S. Marston.

What is NAION?

Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is an eye condition caused by impaired blood flow to the optic nerve.

It can result in sudden vision loss, typically in one eye.

Plaintiffs in MDL 3163 allege that their use of certain GLP-1 medications caused them to develop NAION.

The JPML's transfer order states that the lawsuits share factual questions concerning matters including the development, manufacture, testing, regulatory history, promotion, labeling, and alleged capacity of the products to cause NAION. Plaintiffs assert claims including failure to warn, design defect, and breach of warranty.

Those are legal allegations. The creation of an MDL does not establish that the medications cause NAION or that defendants are liable.

Why are there two separate GLP-1 MDLs?

The cases involve different alleged injuries and potentially different scientific and factual questions.

MDL 3094 focuses on alleged gastrointestinal injuries.

MDL 3163 focuses on alleged NAION and vision loss.

When the JPML considered the NAION cases, defendants proposed either creating a new proceeding or including the cases in the existing gastrointestinal MDL. The Panel ultimately created a separate MDL but transferred it to the same federal district where MDL 3094 is pending.

This allows the court to coordinate related issues while maintaining separate proceedings for the two categories of alleged injuries.

Are the Ozempic and GLP-1 lawsuits class actions?

No.

The primary federal proceedings are multidistrict litigations, not class actions.

An MDL allows individual federal lawsuits with common factual questions to be coordinated before one judge for pretrial proceedings.

Plaintiffs generally retain their individual lawsuits.

Individual facts can therefore remain important, including:

• Which medication was used
• Dose and duration of use
• Why the medication was prescribed
• When symptoms began
• Medical diagnosis
• Other health conditions
• Treatment received
• Evidence concerning causation
• Applicable state law

An MDL does not automatically produce the same outcome or compensation for every plaintiff.

Who may be affected by the GLP-1 litigation?

The current federal litigation generally involves people who allege that they suffered qualifying injuries after using GLP-1 medications involved in the proceedings.

Relevant factors may include:

• The specific medication used
• When the medication was taken
• Duration of treatment
• Dosage history
• Medical diagnosis
• Timing of symptoms
• Medical treatment received
• Other medical conditions
• Other medications
• Applicable filing deadlines

Using Ozempic or another GLP-1 medication alone does not establish a legal claim.

What evidence may matter in an Ozempic or GLP-1 case?

Potentially relevant evidence may include:

• Prescription records
• Pharmacy records
• Medical records
• Medication history
• Dosage information
• Records documenting when symptoms began
• Diagnostic testing
• Hospital records
• Gastroenterology records
• Ophthalmology records for alleged vision injuries
• Surgical records
• Records documenting treatment and medical expenses

Plaintiffs in MDL 3094 are also subject to court-established Plaintiff Fact Sheet requirements designed to collect standardized information about individual claims. The court amended those requirements in April 2026.

Has the Ozempic lawsuit settled?

There is no single global settlement resolving the federal GLP-1 litigation as of August 2026.

Both MDL 3094 and MDL 3163 remain active before the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The court has scheduled recurring status conferences for the proceedings during 2026.

Individual cases may be dismissed, settled, tried, or otherwise resolved without creating a universal settlement for all plaintiffs.

Claims online about an established "Ozempic settlement amount" should therefore be treated cautiously unless they refer to an actual documented resolution.

How much is an Ozempic lawsuit worth?

There is no established universal payout for an Ozempic or GLP-1 lawsuit.

The value of an individual personal injury claim can depend on factors including:

• The alleged injury
• Severity and duration of the condition
• Hospitalization
• Surgery or other treatment
• Permanent impairment
• Medical expenses
• Lost income
• Evidence of causation
• Applicable state law
• How the litigation is ultimately resolved

Speculative settlement estimates published online are not the same as court-approved or negotiated compensation.

Is there a deadline to file an Ozempic or GLP-1 lawsuit?

Yes.

Product liability lawsuits are subject to statutes of limitation.

The applicable deadline can vary based on:

• State law
• When the alleged injury occurred
• When the person learned of the injury
• When the alleged connection to the medication reasonably could have been discovered
• Other case-specific circumstances

The existence of an MDL does not eliminate statutes of limitation.

Common misconceptions

Myth: There is one Ozempic class action covering everyone who took the drug.

Reality: There is no single nationwide Ozempic class action covering every user. Federal GLP-1 personal injury cases are currently organized into separate multidistrict litigations for gastrointestinal injuries and NAION claims. Plaintiffs generally retain individual lawsuits, and using a GLP-1 medication alone does not establish an injury or legal claim.

Why this matters

GLP-1 medications are used by many patients for serious chronic health conditions, and the legal landscape surrounding these products is evolving.

The existence of litigation does not mean that a medication has been proven to cause every injury alleged in a lawsuit. It also does not mean that everyone who has taken Ozempic or another GLP-1 medication has a legal claim.

Understanding the distinction between an FDA-approved medication's known risks, plaintiffs' allegations, and findings actually established in court can help consumers evaluate information about these lawsuits without being misled by mass-tort advertising.