YOU CAN STILL SUE DRUG COMPANIES
People in Philadelphia and everyone injured by the use of a drug in the Delaware Valley where Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP practice regularly should know of the decision by the Supreme Court of the United States decided yesterday.
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court rejected the drug industry's attempt in the case of Wyeth v. Levine to limit the rights of plaintiffs to bring products liabilty against drug manufacturers and suppliers. Wyeth wanted the courts to rule that, because the FDA approves a drug and its warning labels, state law was pre-empted (impotent and powerless) to allow claims for injuries suffered by use of the drug. If successful, it would have made it impossible to sue for damages caused by a defective drug or inadequate warnings. The drug industry was optimistic it would win because the Supreme Court had already ruled that FDA approval of a medical device prevented lawsuits claiming injuries from a defectively designed device or the warnings accompanying it (Riegel v. Medtronics).
Laws have gradually moved over the last few decades from a tendency to protect consumers to a protection of big business. Defendants have relentlessly whittled away at the rights given consumers in the '60s and '70s. But now -- surprisingly and most satisfyingly, the Supreme Court has said "NO" to big business! The lawyers at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis have had broad experience over decades representing plaintiffs injured by defective products and inadequate warnings. We are happy that the door has not been closed upon you!
