U.S. Supreme Court Case Could End Drugmakers' Liability

The AP reports that Diana Levine blames Wyeth Pharmaceuticals "for a botched injection of the Wyeth-made drug Phenergan that led doctors to amputate her right arm in 2000." There is a "hearing Monday before the U.S. Supreme Court, where Wyeth is appealing a $6.7 million verdict in her favor." A ruling "could have major ramifications for drug makers and consumers. The court is expected to decide whether people can sue under state law -- or are pre-empted from doing so -- for harm caused by a drug approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration." While Wyeth and the (FDA) "say that when a drug like Phenergan has a federally approved label, its manufacturer is immune from lawsuits in state court," consumer groups maintain that "federal regulation should represent the floor, not the ceiling, of a drug company's responsibility." Fordham University law professor Benjamin Zipursky, a product liability expert, said that "the court could effectively 'eliminate all pharmaceutical company liability in this one case.'"