Ozempic Lawsuit Update: The Two Federal GLP‑1 Cases, Their Claims and What Comes Next

The Ozempic lawsuits claim that the drug makers knew, or should have known, that their GLP-1 drugs could cause serious harm, and did not warn patients and doctors well enough.2,4 There are two sets of claims.

The first is about the gut. The court says the cases in MDL 3094 share questions about "whether defendants knew or should have known that their GLP-1 RA products can cause gastroparesis and other gastrointestinal injuries" and "whether defendants adequately warned plaintiffs or their prescribing physicians."2 Gastroparesis means the stomach empties too slowly. The plaintiffs' lawyers told the court the cases involve around a dozen distinct stomach and bowel injuries.4

The second is about the eyes. The cases in MDL 3163 claim the drugs caused non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), which the court describes as "a condition that results in sudden, permanent vision loss."4 All of those plaintiffs bring claims for failure to warn, design defect and breach of warranties.4

"The Novo Nordisk defendants and Eli Lilly and Company deny these allegations," the court's page says.2 Novo Nordisk and Lilly also deny a link between NAION and their drugs and say the vision lawsuits have no merit, PhillyVoice reported in September 2026.12

As of October 1, 2026, 4,272 federal cases were pending in the two GLP-1 MDLs: 4,025 in MDL 3094 and 247 in MDL 3163.1 Over its life, MDL 3094 has received 4,139 cases, so 114 are no longer pending.1 All 247 cases ever filed in MDL 3163 are still pending.1

MDL 3094 was the 13th largest of 162 active MDLs in the federal courts on that date.1 For scale, the largest, the Johnson & Johnson talcum powder litigation, had 69,340 pending cases.1

These counts cover only cases in the federal MDLs.1 There are also cases in state courts. New Jersey has a state master docket for GLP-1 stomach and bowel cases, In re GLP-1 Gastrointestinal Injuries.4 Nearly 100 NAION lawsuits against GLP-1 makers have been filed in New Jersey since 2025, according to USA Today as cited by PhillyVoice, and another group has been filed in Philadelphia.12 In July 2026 the federal judge wrote that the related state NAION cases were all still at the pleadings stage, with no scheduling orders.4

No. The federal Ozempic cases are not one class action. They are separate personal injury cases that have been grouped in a multidistrict litigation (MDL).2 An MDL moves cases from different districts to one judge "for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings."17 The court describes the actions as "generally personal injury actions."2

MDL 3094 covers Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus, made by Novo Nordisk, and Trulicity and Mounjaro, made by Eli Lilly.2 The court's first case management order is dated February 15, 2024.5

In August 2024 the judge chose to decide some questions that affect every case first, before working up individual cases: general causation and preemption, or whether the label's warnings were adequate.4 General causation asks whether a drug "is capable of causing a particular injury or condition in the general population," as the court quotes it, before asking whether it caused one person's injury.4 Preemption asks, in the court's words, "whether a drug's approved label already contains the warnings that Plaintiffs seek to add and if not, whether the FDA would have rejected additional warnings."4

The court calls these "Cross Cutting Issues." Motions to exclude expert opinions under Rule 702 and motions for summary judgment on Cross Cutting Issues 2 and 3 were due on May 19, 2026.6 The judge held a Rule 702 (Daubert) hearing on them from September 14 to 18, 2026.2 Closing arguments were set for October 13, 2026.7

MDL 3163 is the second GLP-1 MDL, also before Judge Marston.3 It names Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus and Saxenda, made by Novo Nordisk, and Trulicity, Mounjaro and Zepbound, made by Eli Lilly.4

Most of these cases are against Novo Nordisk. As of June 15, 2026, only 19 of the 137 cases then in the MDL had been brought against Lilly.4 The count has since grown to 247.1

On July 2, 2026, the judge ordered early discovery and motions on general causation and preemption, the same approach as in MDL 3094.4 She wrote that these issues "could resolve all the cases in this MDL," lead to Lilly's exit from the case, or send the issues to a jury and move on to choosing bellwether (test) cases.4 The companies proposed finishing fact discovery in October 2026 and expert discovery by the end of 2026, and the judge suggested briefing could run to the middle of 2027.4

For what NAION is and what the studies on semaglutide found, see our guide to Ozempic side effects.

No settlement has been announced in either federal MDL. The orders the court lists for MDL 3094 are case management and scheduling orders, and none of them is a settlement.5 No bellwether trial has been scheduled: the NAION judge wrote in July 2026 that bellwether selection would come only after the early motions, if the cases are not resolved by them.4

Be wary of any page that quotes an average Ozempic settlement amount. With no settlement on record, there is no amount to average.

"GLP-1 lawsuit" and "Ozempic lawsuit" name the same cases. The official title of each MDL starts "Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs)," because the cases cover a class of drugs, not one brand.1

• Wegovy lawsuit: Wegovy is in both MDLs.2,4
• Mounjaro lawsuit: Mounjaro, made by Lilly, is in both MDLs.2,4
• Zepbound and Saxenda: both are named in the NAION MDL.4
• Trulicity: in both MDLs.2,4

These product liability lawsuits have been filed overwhelmingly against Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, not against telehealth or compounding companies, KFF Health News reported in June 2026.13

The US labels already carry stomach warnings, and they carry no NAION warning.

The Ozempic label says Ozempic is not recommended in people with severe gastroparesis.8 Its list of reports received after approval includes ileus (a bowel that stops moving), intestinal obstruction and severe constipation, including fecal impaction.8 The Mounjaro label lists the same three reports and also says it is not recommended in severe gastroparesis.10 On the Wegovy label, severe stomach and bowel side effects occurred in 4.1% of adults on the Wegovy injection, against 0.9% on placebo.9

On vision, the May 2026 Ozempic label has no warning for NAION.8 The June 2026 Wegovy label has none either.9 Europe went further. In June 2025 the European Medicines Agency's safety committee concluded that NAION is a "very rare" side effect of semaglutide medicines, which it defines as affecting up to 1 in 10,000 people, and recommended adding it to their product information.11 It also said that if NAION is confirmed, semaglutide should be stopped.11

Whether the US warnings were enough is the question the courts are now weighing in the preemption motions.4

These are the next dates on the record, as of October 27, 2026:

• MDL 3094: the judge heard closing arguments on the Rule 702 motions for Cross Cutting Issues 2 and 3 on October 13, 2026.7 The court's orders list shows no ruling on them yet.5 Monthly status conferences continue in November and December.7
• MDL 3163: discovery on general causation and preemption is under way, with briefing expected in 2027.4
• Case counts: the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation posts new counts each month.1

We will update this page when the court rules or the counts change.

Several other lawsuits involve GLP-1 drugs, but none of them is a patient injury case:

• Novo Nordisk against knockoff sellers: Novo Nordisk has filed 130 lawsuits against entities it says market and sell knockoff semaglutide unlawfully.13
• The FTC against Hims & Hers: on July 29, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission sued Hims & Hers, alleging that the company does not make clear that filling out a medical history signs a consumer up for a renewing subscription, and that it makes canceling hard.14 Utah and California joined the suit.14 Hims & Hers called the claims baseless.14
• Novo Nordisk against Eli Lilly: in July 2026 Novo Nordisk sued Lilly over advertisements it says compare Lilly's drugs with older, lower doses of Novo's. Lilly denies the allegations.15
• Novo Nordisk shareholders: on July 28, 2026, a federal judge let parts of a shareholder securities lawsuit over CagriSema go forward.15

Talk to your provider before you stop or change any GLP-1 dose. Get care right away for upper stomach pain that won't go away and may spread to your back, or for changes in your vision, which MedlinePlus lists among the serious symptoms on semaglutide.16 For sudden loss of vision or eyesight that is quickly getting worse, the European Medicines Agency says to contact your doctor without delay.11

Keep a record of what you take and when symptoms start. That helps your provider, whatever you decide about anything else. For the full list of common and serious effects, read our guides to Ozempic side effects, Wegovy side effects and Mounjaro side effects.