Risks vs. Benefits: Court Upholds Big Pharma Verdicts

The murky ethics of big pharmaceutical companies gaining approval of, marketing, and selling drugs has been covered many times. Recently, an appellate court upheld a notable pair of verdicts totaling $45 million in favor of two women who developed breast cancer after taking the menopause drug Prempro.  Litigation surrounding Wyeth's manufacturing, marketing, and sale of Prempro has been pending for many years and involves over 10,000 claims from women similarly situated.

Legal actions against drug manufacturers relating to dangerous drugs is a subset of the law known as product liability law. Product liability law holds those who manufacturer, market, or sell products responsible for harm caused by their products. Product liability cases may arise in a variety of situations such as with dangerous drugs, motor vehicles, or any other product sold to consumers.

Product liability law involves weighing the harms caused (risks) by products against their social utility (benefits) and foreseeability of harm. Rhode Islanders may recall product liability in the news relating to the lead paint cases. In State v. Lead Industries, Ass'n, Inc., 951 A.2d 428 (R.I. 2008), the Rhode Island Supreme Court reversed judgments that the trial court had entered against manufacturers of paint that had included high contents of lead. In later years, it had been discovered that the lead could cause harm to others, particularly children. There were numerous issues involving these cases, but ultimately our Supreme Court made essentially a policy decision against holding these manufacturers liable.

There is no serious debate that because of product liability law, American consumers are much safer today than in the past.  For example, we have come a long way from the horrific atrocities committed by Ford Motor Co. executives relating to the Ford Pinto. Many companies today strive to make safety a top priority. Nobody is perfect. When a defect is discovered, companies are supposed to promptly report the defect and, when appropriate, take further action such as issue a recall or cease from selling the product.

In my practice, I try to provide safety recall updates through my blog or through Twitter.  If you ever have a question about whether a product has been recalled or whether there have been reports of adverse events associated with the product, you can also check out the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission's website here.

And to read more about the appellate decisions against Wyeth, the names of the cases referenced above are Connie J. Barton v. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Donna Kendall v. Wyeth Inc.