In Drug Case, Justices Weigh Right to Sue - WSJ.com
This is a landmark caseIn Drug Case, Justices Weigh Right to Sue - WSJ.comFor nearly a century, Americans have been able to sue drug companies for deaths or injuries caused by medicines. Now the pharmaceutical industry and other big businesses are hoping the Supreme Court will sharply curb that right.In a case called Wyeth v. Levine, which the court will hear next week, a Vermont guitarist named Diana Levine lost an arm to gangrene caused by an improperly administered nausea drug. A Vermont jury awarded her $6.7 million in damages from Wyeth, accepting her argument that the drug maker should have put stronger warnings on the label.In its appeal of the verdict, the drug maker says the drug's label was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and it argues the federal regulator's judgment should trump state law on issues of product safety. Many lawsuits are based on state consumer-safety regulations that often are stronger than federal standards."This case is worth tens of billions to the pharmaceutical industry," said Richard Rubin, Ms. Levine's lawyer.
The policy even spells out specific bans on some of the common gifts docs get from drug companies: “personal items, office supplies, food, travel and time costs,” as well as payment for online continuing medical education (CME) courses. It also says doctors shouldn’t be paid to give speeches on behalf of drug companies.