Wyeth v. Levine!!!! Plaintiffs’ lawyers have seen drug (and medical device) injury victims take punch after punch. But in a huge win for patient safety, the Supreme Court upheld in a 6-3 ruling today that in a Vermont woman’s verdict against Wyeth for injuries she suffered after taking one of the drug maker’s medicines. Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the majority, said FDA oversight of drug labeling doesn’t prevent the filing of state tort claims.
It is a little pathetic that this is a huge win. Gee, the law for the last 90 years will not be completely uprooted. Yippy! But the Drug and Device Law Blog predicted victory and those guys have been on the winning side of most everything lately. (A guest Drug and Device Law blogger also broke down the justices individually and predicted victory but I cannot find the post to link to it.) So I’ll admit I was more than a little scared. Now, I’m thrilled that even this conservative Supreme Court found decisively in favor of the Plaintiff.
The one downside: a loss may have mobilized Congress to act. This win in Wyeth v. Levine could ironically slow progress on a bill to overturn Medtronic v. Riegel.
You can find an article on the verdict here. You can find the Supreme Court opinion in Wyeth v. Levine here.
- Medtronic v. Riegel (different view taken regarding medical devices)
- New England Journal of Medicine (support for the Medical Device Safety Act)
- Wyeth v. Levine (logic not extended to drugs)