“The (court) system represents one of the key defense mechanisms that individuals have if a manufacturer has not made the risks of a product clear to the public.” This statement was not made by a plaintiff’s attorney. It was made by the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Jeffrey M. Darien. The Journal has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case of Wyeth v. Levine and argues that federal law does not and should not preempt state products liability law thereby prohibiting injured citizens from suing drug manufacturers for serious injuries caused by unsafe drugs. The doctors are arguing that lawsuits help to create safe drugs and the FDA simply is not equiped to do the job alone. You can read more about the New England Journal Medicine’s position here.
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