SCOTUS Invites SG View On Products/Preemption Case

On Monday, the Supreme Court invited the Solicitor General to file a brief in Wyeth v. Levine.  At issue is whether the FDA’s drug label requirements preempt state negligence and failure-to-warn products liability claims. 

Wyeth is appealing a $6.8 million judgment awarded to a Vermont woman whose hand and forearm were amputated after an anti-nausea drug was improperly injected into her artery.  The FDA had approved the drug’s label, which included injection as a method of administration and warned of the risk of gangrene when injected into an artery.  On appeal, the Vermont Supreme Court upheld the award, rejecting Wyeth’s preemption argument. 

The cert documents are available at SCOTUSBlog as well as the brief in opposition and amici briefs filed by PLAC and PRMA.  SCOTUSBlog gives Wyeth’s petition a “reasonable chance” of being granted – and that was before the SG was invited to weigh in.

-SBS