Healthy Skepticism Library item: 11859

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Thornton RG.
Preemption, tort reform, and pharmaceutical claims: Part one: Who will become the pharmaceutical industry's insurers (or is it prescribing physicians and we do not know it?)
Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2007 Oct; 20:(4):418-22
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=17948120

Abstract:

In May, the Houston, Texas, litigation ruled that unless the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has explicitly determined that a pharmaceutical manufacturer committed fraud in connection with the approval or marketing of an FDA-approved medication, Texas residents could not pursue a “failure-to-warn” claim against the medication’s manufacturer (1). While some praise rulings such as this as a step in favor of curbing baseless legal claims (2) and in favor of a more rational oversight of the pharmaceutical industry (3), what is the ultimate effect of this ruling on the others involved in the utilization of prescription medications, namely prescribing physicians and patients? In this and the next issue of Proceedings, we will look at the Ledbetter decision and its practical effect to see if we like the answers to these questions. In this issue, we analyze the decision itself and its effect on future legal disputes over prescription medications. In the next issue, we will look at where this leaves the citizens of Texas and where the underlying rationale for this and similar decisions leaves the American public…

Keywords:
PMID: 17948120 [PubMed - in process]

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