BH&F Blog

Adam Liptak with the New York Times reports:

MARSHFIELD, Vt. — When Diana Levine starts talking about her rock ’n’ roll days, she plays a little air guitar, mimicking the way she used to handle her electric bass in bands like the Re-Bops and Duke and the Detours. But Ms. Levine is missing much of her right arm, which was amputated below the elbow after a medical disaster.

In November, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether Ms. Levine may keep more than $6 million that a Vermont jury ordered Wyeth, a pharmaceutical company, to pay her for failing to warn her adequately about the risks of one of its drugs. The case, the latest in a brisk parade of similar ones, will help define the contours of a signature project of the Roberts court.

In legal jargon, the cases concern “pre-emption,” a doctrine that can bar injured consumers like Ms. Levine from suing in state court when the products that hurt them had met federal standards. The issue is less boring and more consequential than it sounds, and Ms. Levine’s case is shaping up to be the most important business case of the term.

To read the entire article, click here.

Burke Harvey & Frankowski represents hundreds of individuals who have been injured and even caused death by defective pharmaceutical products. Should the United States Supreme Court find that our client's claims are "preempted" they will have no recourse for their injuries and the pharmaceutical companies whose conduct caused their injuries will get away without having to compensate them at all. Often these companies are able to get their products approved by failing to provide the FDA with all available information related to safety of their proposed drugs. Even the prestigious New England Jounral of Medicine has opposed the imposition of preemption stating that drug products liability lawsuits are important in keeping drug companies honest and helps provide protection to consumers.

Labels: Defective Drugs; Drug Products Liability; Personal Injury