Supreme Court ruling could cost pharmaceutical industry ‘billions’
Last March, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a $6.7 million ruling stating that federal law cannot protect pharmaceutical companies from liability lawsuits that are filed in state court, meaning drug companies are responsible for damages created by products even when the FDA has approved drug labels that include warnings of side effects. That ruling is based on a lawsuit involving Wyeth Pharmaceutical drug Phenergan. As a result of the ruling, numerous lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies that had been lying dormant are finally beginning to move toward trial, according to Bloomberg.