Testosterone: What to Ask About a Claim in North Carolina

North Carolina TRT cases filed in federal court — including the E.D.N.C., M.D.N.C., or W.D.N.C. — were transferred to MDL 2545 in the Northern District of Illinois before Judge Matthew Kennelly. North Carolina's fast-growing population, particularly in the Charlotte and Raleigh–Durham metro areas, has contributed significant MDL plaintiff numbers. MDL 2545 was largely resolved through global settlements and is no longer on the JPML's list of pending MDLs (Oct. 1, 2026 report); an attorney can say whether any route remains for a new claim.

North Carolina's statute of limitations for personal injury and products liability is three years under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(16) and § 1-46.1. North Carolina's discovery rule defers accrual until the plaintiff knew or should have known of the injury and its cause. However, North Carolina also has a ten-year statute of repose for products liability claims under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-46.1, which bars claims filed more than ten years after the last act or omission giving rise to the claim — typically the date of last TRT product use. Practitioners must evaluate both the SoL and repose bar for each North Carolina case.

North Carolina has rapidly growing metro areas — Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, and Greensboro — with large male populations who received TRT prescriptions during the peak marketing years. The Research Triangle Park area has a concentration of healthcare providers and specialists who treated TRT patients. North Carolina also has significant rural populations with elevated cardiovascular risk, including the eastern and western regions where cardiovascular disease mortality rates exceed the national average.

North Carolina plaintiffs may file in North Carolina Superior Courts or in federal court. North Carolina follows the rule that contributory negligence bars recovery — one of the few remaining pure contributory negligence states — which defendants may attempt to invoke if the plaintiff had known cardiovascular risk factors. However, products liability claims in North Carolina are governed by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 99B-1 et seq., and failure-to-warn and design defect theories are well-established regardless of contributory negligence arguments in the prescription drug context.