Court weighs amputee's case; limits on drug suits
Court Alerts
The Supreme Court appeared likely Monday to decide an amputee's lawsuit against a drug maker based on how much federal regulators knew about an anti-nausea drug's risks in the event of a botched injection.
Several justices indicated that if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had clear information about the risks of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals' anti-nausea drug Phenergan, and approved its warning label anyway, then Wyeth probably would prevail in its court fight against Diana Levine of Vermont.
But there was considerable skepticism among the justices — and disagreement between the opposing lawyers — that the FDA had a clear picture of the disastrous consequences of improperly giving Phenergan by an intravenous method of injection known as IV push, the fastest way to bring relief to nauseated patients.
"How could the FDA have concluded that IV push was safe and effective," Justice Samuel Alito asked, given that Phenergan is not a lifesaving drug and gangrene can result from improper administration?
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg chimed in, "No matter what benefit there was, how could the benefit outweigh that substantial risk?"
Levine, a guitar- and piano-playing musician from Vermont, was in the courtroom for Monday's arguments in Wyeth's appeal of a $6.7 million verdict she won from a state jury.
The jury agreed with Levine's claim that Wyeth failed to provide a strong and clear warning about the risks of IV push, which include that gangrene is likely if the injection accidentally hits an artery. That is precisely what happened to Levine.
The company appealed and, backed by the Bush administration, argued that once a drug's warning label gets FDA approval, consumers cannot pursue state law claims that they were harmed.
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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.