Recently, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) voiced strong opposition to preemption of cases involving defective medical devices and drugs, which would strip Americans injured by defective medical devices or drugs of their constitutional right to a trial by jury for most, if not all, legal claims, where the drugs or medical devices are regulated or approved by the FDA.

In an Amicus Brief filed in a case pending before the United States Supreme Court, Wyeth v. Levine, the NEJM editors wrote that the “FDA alone simply lacks the ability to serve as the sole guarantor of drug safety'’ and that without the discoveries made by plaintiff’s lawyers as a result of defective drug lawsuits, “the FDA would be stripped of an essential source of information that the agency has consistently relied on when making its regulatory decisions, and the American public would be deprived of a vital deterrent against pharmaceutical company misconduct.'’

A copy of this compelling brief is available by clicking here. In addition, the recent NEJM article, “Why Doctors Should Worry about Preemption,” is available on the NEJM’s website, by clicking here.

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