Read What The Attorneys For Diana Levine And Wyeth Argued, And What Questions Were Asked By The Justices Regarding Possible Federal Preemption Of This Drug Injury Case
(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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In the run up to the November 3, 2008 oral arguments in the Wyeth v. Levine case, there was an increasing amount of attention paid to the issue of whether or not the legal doctrine of federal preemption should be applied to drug injury lawsuits.
For those of you who are interested in what was said by the attorneys as well as the Supreme Court Justices during the Wyeth v. Levine oral hearing, we want to make available this information from the Argument Transcripts page of the Supreme Court's web site:
The Court's current Courtroom reporter, Alderson Reporting Company, provides transcripts of oral arguments that are posted on this Web site on the same day an argument is heard by the Court. Same-day transcripts are considered official but subject to final review. The following transcripts are for the cases argued during the October Term 2000 and subsequent Court Terms. These transcripts are permanently archived on this Web site. Persons wishing to purchase bound copies of individual transcripts should contact Alderson at (202) 289-2260, or www.aldersonreporting.com.
As of 12 noon, eastern time, on November 3 the Wyeth v. Levine transcript was not available, yet. We will add a postscript, here, with the internet URL for this transcript as soon as it is available.
P.S. The transcript of the November 3, 2008 Wyeth v. Levine Supreme Court hearing is now available on the Arguments Transcript page of Court's web site. (11/3/08, 4:00 p.m.)