August 20, 2025
Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the makers of the popular weight-loss drug. Litigants cite blindness and other side-effects.
The legal battle over Ozempic is getting bigger by the day. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the diabetes-medicine-turned weight-loss drug.
What started as scattered complaints has grown into more than a thousand lawsuits against Novo Nordisk. The company is accused of being “deceptive and misleading about the true risks” of the drug. Customers say the drug has left them with lasting health problems, from paralyzed stomachs to sudden vision loss.
The individual lawsuits were pulled together last year into a massive multidistrict litigation (MDL-3094) based in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. That move, overseen by Judge Karen Spencer Marston, allows the courts to handle pretrial work collectively, while still giving each plaintiff their own case, according to Forbes.
For some users, the most terrifying allegations involve the loss of sight. A July 2024 study by JAMA Ophthalmology suggested people taking Ozempic (Semaglutide) could be seven times more likely to develop a rare eye disease called non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION. The disease damages the optic nerve and can lead to sudden blindness.
“I started seeing shadows in my vision, and then it got worse almost overnight,” said Cilette Mitchell.
Mitchell spoke to the New York Post about her worsening condition and blamed Ozempic for her irreversible sight loss.
“Now I’m afraid I won’t even be able to see my grandkids grow up.”
Others are suing over painful gastrointestinal issues. Court filings describe patients who ended up in emergency rooms with blocked intestines or stomach paralysis. Some say the nausea and vomiting were so severe they couldn’t keep food down for weeks.
Plaintiffs argue Novo Nordisk didn’t do enough to warn about these risks. The company maintains that Ozempic is safe when used as directed. However, the wave of lawsuits tells a different story. Many consumers feel blindsided after trusting a medication marketed to improve their health.
For now, the cases are moving through discovery. Early trials are expected to set the tone for whether settlements follow.
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