CINCINNATI, Ohio, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — An Ohio
Federal Court of Appeals ruling issued yesterday is reinstating the
late victim’s claim that the recalled diet drug Redux (commonly
called fen-phen) linked to her death should never have been
marketed to the American people by Wyeth due in part to its
pre-approval concerns about potentially lethal side effects. The
Court, in remanding the case to the trial court, held that Federal
drug regulations do not preempt Ohio negligence claims, and
indicated that the Supreme Court’s 2009 landmark pharmaceutical
manufacturer preemption decision (Wyeth v. Levine) may apply
beyond inadequate warning-label claims.
Benjamin H. Anderson, Esq., of Anderson Law Offices, LLC of
Cleveland, Ohio, counsel for the plaintiff, said, “Mary Buchanan,
like so many others, turned to a drug to help her lose weight and
as a result she lost her life. She and her surviving family members
deserve justice; this is an important decision in her case and for
the harms and losses she sustained, as well as the many millions of
Americans taking prescription medications who have long been
concerned about drug companies being shielded from appropriate
state negligence laws. Significantly, the appeals court has also
reinstated and remanded to the trial court our claim for punitive
damages.”
In reversing key sections of the trial court’s finding for the
defendant on summary judgment in Wimbush v. Wyeth et.al., 6th Cir.
No. 09-3380, the three-judge appeals panel held that the trial
judge erred in concluding that the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) preempted the Buchanan family’s negligence
claims that the drug should never have been made available to
Americans given Wyeth-Redux’s known health risks, particularly
Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH). Mrs. Buchanan, a hard-working
and dedicated 66- year-old nurse from Maple Heights, Ohio who took
the weight-loss drug during 1996 and 1997, lost her life to PPH in
2003 wit
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