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Allergan Corp. scored a victory in the first Botox trial, but legal experts say the defense verdict may have little impact on ongoing litigation.

On Tuesday, a California jury found Allergan not liable for the death of a 7-year-old Texas girl who died after being treated for cerebral palsy with high-dose injections of Botox.

Alexandra D. Lahav, a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law and co-author of the Mass Tort Litigation Blog, said it’s too early to tell how the rest of the litigation will play out.

“An individual case doesn’t tell you that much,” she said. “If you see again and again either defense verdicts or plaintiffs’ verdicts, then we’re learning something.”

Dee Spears had alleged that her daughter, Kristen, died in November 2007 as a result of an overdose of Botox, which caused respiratory failure and pneumonia.

While the drug is well-known as AN injectable wrinkle-remover, Botox is also prescribed “off label” to treat serious medical conditions, such as limb spasticity in pediatric cerebral palsy patients.

In a statement, Irvine, Calif.-based Allergan said: “The trial relates to a very sad and unfortunate situation, and our hearts go out to Dee Spears for the loss of her daughter, Kristen.  However, the jury’s conclusion supports the evidence that Botox played no role in the passing of Kristen Spears.”

Ray Chester, a partner at McGinnis, Lockridge & Kilgore, who represented Dee Spears, said he was disappointed by the verdict and is considering post-trial options.

“I thought the evidence came in great and was overwhelming,” he said.

Jurors decided by a 10-2 vote that Allergan provided adequate warnings about Botox’s risks.

Bryan Liang, executive director of the Institute of Health Law Studies at the California Western School of Law in San Diego, said the jury’s decision was “striking,” since the Food and Drug Administration last August ordered a black box warning about Botox’s potential to cause life-threatening botulism poisoning.

“In this case, we’re not just talking about the adequacy of a label and warnings. We are talking about a situation where the FDA actually said the warnings from their perspective weren’t good enough,” he said.

Chester said jurors indicated after the trial that they were influenced by the testimony of Kristen Spears’ treating physician, Rolf Habersang, who said he was aware of Botox’s risks.

Next trial in Oklahoma

Chester has filed about a dozen lawsuits against Allergan, alleging severe injuries and death from botulism poisoning caused by Botox. About half involve Botox injections for therapeutic uses, while the rest involve adverse reactions to cosmetic procedures.

Liang noted that the California jury did not determine whether Botox caused Kristen Spears’ death.

The verdict, he said, “only addressed the failure to warn.”

In future trials, he said, plaintiffs will likely get beyond the failure-to-warn issue.

“At that point,” Liang said, “we will see significant and conflicting arguments about causation – the crux of many wins and losses in this kind of litigation.”

Chester’s next Botox trial is in Oklahoma on April 19. The suit was filed by Shara Helton, a 47-year-old obstetrician/gynecologist who developed botulism after a Botox cosmetics session in July 2006. She suffers crippling neuropathy, according to Chester.

On Sept. 13, Chester returns to court in Orange County, Calif. to represent the family of Sondra Bryant, a 70-year-old registered nurse from Texas who died after receiving Botox injections for back and neck pain.

Questions or comments can be directed to the writer at: nora.tooher@lawyersusaonline.com

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