As Orlando medical malpractice lawyers we applaud the work by the premier medical journal and editors of the New England Journal of Medicine. These medical doctors submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in an upcoming Supreme Court case involving Wyeth Drug Company. In the doctors’ brief they supported an individual’s right to sue careless drug companies even when the drug company satisfies the minimal rules of the Federal Drug Administration.
The medical doctors explained that the Federal Drug Administration, by itself, cannot guarantee drug safety. The doctors wrote that state-level lawsuits are “a vital deterrent” to help protect consumers against drug makers that do not disclose all risks associated with a treatment.
In the case, Wyeth v. Levine, Diana Levine, a Vermont musician who lost her arm after receiving the nausea drug Phenergan, claims that the drugmaker did not adequately disclose the drug’s risks. A Vermont court ruled in her favor, awarding her $6.8 million. Wyeth has appealed the ruling and argues that because FDA weighed the risks and benefits of the drug and approved it, the company is not liable — a legal doctrine known as pre-emption. The Supreme Court case will “test this legal doctrine … for prescription drugs.”
The editors of the national medical journal note that 23 FDA-approved drugs have been withdrawn from the market since 1997 because of safety risks. As Orlando medical malpractice lawyers who understand the need to keep drug makers honest for the good of all consumers, we applaud the position taken by these prominent medical doctors.
