Learn More About Possible Federal Preemption of Drug Injury Lawsuits And Wyeth v. Levine

Get Background Information, Opinions, And Resources For This Important Legal And Public Policy Issue

(Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com)

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UPDATE: Drug Injury Lawsuits Are Not Preempted By Federal Law (3/4/09)

On March 4, 2009 the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, found that FDA approval was not a complete defense to plaintiff Diane Levine’s claim that Wyeth failed to adequately warn against a risk involved with the anti-nausea drug Phenergan. 

As stated by Justice John Paul Stevens: 

Congress did not intend FDA oversight to be the exclusive means of ensuring drug safety and effectiveness.

Wyeth v. Levine, No. 06-1249 (U.S. Sup. Ct.)

For background information and materials regarding the Wyeth v. Levine case, visit the Federal Preemption of Drug Injury Lawsuits page over at the Drug Injury Law web site.

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On November 3, 2008 the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments from both sides in the case of Wyeth v. Levine regarding whether the fact that prescription drugs are regulated by the federal government should shield drug companies from being sued by injured patients in state courts.

It is my position that any application of the federal preemption doctrine to drug injury lawsuits would effectively eliminate a significant incentive for the drug company to ensure that its drug labels reflect accurate and up-to-date safety information, i.e., the possibility of failure-to-warn product liability litigation.

At our Drug Injury Law web site we have developed an information and news page called "Federal Preemption of Drug Injury Lawsuits".

There you will find some background about the the Wyeth v. Levine case, which involves Diana Levine, a Vermont musician and migraine sufferer who lost part of one arm due to side effects from Wyeth’s nausea drug Phenergan.

On the Drug Injury Law preemption page we also have:

• the October 2008 Wyeth press release concerning the Levine case and the issue of federal preemption;
• the U.S. Supreme Court docket and statement of issue for Wyeth v. Levine as well as the various "friend of the court", or amicus curiae, briefs that have been filed; and,
• several opinion articles about the federal preemption doctrine in the context of drug injury cases from various sources, ranging from The England Journal of Medicine to several blogs, including Ed Silverman's Pharmalot and Doug Bremner's Before You Take That Pill, as well as a piece by Henry Greenspan on the collaborative Tort Deform site.

If you want to recommend some additional items that we should make available on the Federal Preemption of Drug Injury Lawsuits page over at our Drug Injury Law site, you can let me know by submitting a Comment to this post, using the link below.

Of course, you can also use the Comment feature to let people know what you think about the possible application of this federal preemption legal doctrine to drug injury lawsuits -- the issue that is before our Supreme Court in the Wyeth v. Levine case.