US Court of Appeals Judge Michael M. Mihm, for the Seventh Circuit, recently ruled that the products liability lawsuit against the maker of the antidepressant Paxil by the parents of a young woman who committed suicide seven years ago may move ahead (PDF). Tricia Mason, 23-years-old at the time, ingested a lethal dose of cyanide just two days after she started taking Paxil.
In non-legalese, it means the drug maker cannot simply state that the death is on the Food and Drug Administration's shoulders just because they may not have required a warning label.
Chicago injury lawyers and attorneys across the nation likely are taking notice of the ruling, which reverses a lower court decision that came before a recent Supreme Court opinion in a different case.
Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline argued unsuccessfully that the lawsuit was preempted because the Food and Drug Administration did not require a warning that Paxil carried a risk of suicide for its users. But the court held that GSK had to show "clear evidence" that the FDA would not have required the warning.
The lawsuit claimed GSK was negligent for failing to warn Ms. Mason and other patients using Paxil about the increased risk of suicide linked to the drug. The trial court sided with the company, saying that the warnings the plaintiffs claim should have been included on the drug's label would have conflicted with FDA-approved labeling rules.
A landmark Supreme Court ruling last year (Wyeth v. Levine, PDF) "represents a sea change in the way courts are to consider issue of federal preemption," according to the written opinion in the Mason v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. case.
In light of the Supreme Court opinion, Judge Mihm says, "all that really needs to be said is that Tricia Mason committed suicide two days after taking Paxil."
Related Resources:
- Paxil Overview (FindLaw)
- Ruling Against Maker of Paxil in Suicide Case (FindLaw US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries Blog)
- Paxil Lawsuits Cost Glaxo $1 Billion in Settlements (FindLaw Injured Blog)
- Chicago Accident Attorney Directory (FindLaw)
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