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The FDA advisory committee recently voted to pull popular pain killers Darvon and Darvocet from the market because of lack of effectiveness and potentially deadly side effects such as addiction, suicide and heart problems.   If you are taking these drugs you should discuss any continued use with your physician.  

If you have been injured by any of these drugs, James, Vernon & Weeks P.A. is currently investigating injury claims against the manufacturers of these drugs and would be happy to review your case.

Tremendous news for consumers.   By a vote of 6-3, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its landmark decision relating to state law failure-to-warn claims in pharmaceutical product liability cases and held that such claims are not preempted by federal law. Wyeth v. Levine, No. 06-1249 (slip op., 03/04/09).    This decision will provide financial incentive for drugmakers to think twice before rushing untested and potentially dangerous drugs to our pharmacies.  

Below are some comments across the nation regarding this victory for consumers. 

Wyeth decision seen as victory for consumers.

In an op-ed Houston Chronicle (3/7) Thomas McGarity, a professor of law at The University of Texas at Austin, wrote, "The Supreme Court last week ended an acrimonious battle between large pharmaceutical companies and patients injured by inadequately labeled prescription drugs." The ruling "is also a rare win for consumers in the broader 'pre-emption war' that has been raging in Congress and the courts over whether federal regulatory agencies should trump local juries." Now the "war continues in other areas where federal agencies regulate potentially dangerous products, set standards for airline, railroad and motor carrier safety, and attempt to protect consumers from unscrupulous banks and credit reporting agencies." However, "the Supreme Court's well-reasoned opinion should make federal bureaucracies think twice before concluding that they are the only game in town."

        The Insurance Journal /AP(3/9) reports, "A Supreme Court ruling this week that federal approval of a drug is no protection from lawsuits in state courts could make drugmakers more cautious about safety issues and may lead them to halt development of some medicines and even pull others off the market."

        Justice Thomas' concurrence in Wyeth seen as liberal. The Los Angeles Times (3/9, Savage) reports, "The Supreme Court opinion that drew the most praise last week from a proudly 'progressive' constitutional law group was written by perhaps the court's staunchest conservative, Justice Clarence Thomas." He would "have gone further than the court's liberals in a decision that allowed injured patients to sue drug makers" according to the "24-page concurrence" where "he said the court should have declared that judges have no authority to void state consumer-protection laws based on 'agency musings' from Washington."