Sex Addiction and Gambling: The medication side effects that destroyed lives

Rowe was the saving of the class action. From then on the courtroom was a lot fuller. A QC came in for the drug companies. More litigants came on board. In 2013, drug companies Aspen Pharmacare and Eli Lilly settled out of court. Pfizer followed in 2014.

Almost 200 people benefited financially. Sadly, Jane never got to spend her compensation. She died in 2012 of health complications. Some people ask if I received anything and I tell them, “$10”.

That’s because when Jane and I first discussed taking legal action she said it wasn’t about the money, it was about the accountability and she didn’t care if it was only $20, she would give me half.

We’d become great friends so I was asked to give the eulogy at her funeral. When I walked into the funeral parlour there was her coffin. On the lid was a framed $10 note.

I keep it on the walls of my office because it reminds me how Jane and I were on the same page. This case wasn’t about money. Money can never buy back what those litigants lost – families, reputations, their whole identities. This case was about accountability. The drug companies knew about the side effects and didn’t tell us.

The two drugs that were the subject of litigation were Permax and Cabaser. Not everyone is affected but anyone concerned should talk to their GP.”