Monday, March 9, 2009

Court Rules Drug Companies Not Protected By FDA Warning Labels

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that drug companies can be sued for harm caused by drugs which carry warning labels approved by the FDA.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the drug company Wyeth on Wednesday, stating that the pharmaceutical company can be held liable for the harm caused by FDA-approved drugs.

The vote came down from the U.S. Supreme Court at 6-to-3 in favor of ruling against drug maker Wyeth.

This is being seen as a huge blow to the pharmaceutical industry as it could open the door to many new lawsuits.

The ruling was that warning labels approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration do not pre-empt state laws.

This means they cannot be used to protect companies from liability claims spawning from harm their drugs caused.

The drug in question for this particular lawsuit was Phenergan from Wyeth.

An improper injection caused a Vermont woman, Diana Levine, to lose her arm

She was awarded $7 million in damages by a jury in the state of Vermont.

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