For decades, both state and federal courts in Michigan have routinely applied the learned intermediary doctrine in products liability cases involving prescription medical products. Under the doctrine, a manufacturer’s duty to...more
In Himes v. Somatics, LLC, No. S273887, 2024 WL 3059637 (Cal. June 20, 2024), the Supreme Court of California delivered a win to the defense, upholding the learned intermediary doctrine in cases involving prescription drugs...more
A developing line of cases across the nation may have large implications for medical device manufacturers defending against failure-to-warn claims. While a treating physician’s failure to read or rely on the manufacturer’s...more
How demanding is the causation standard in a California failure to warn claim when a learned intermediary testifies that he would have read and incorporated more stringent warnings if they had been available? Is the plaintiff...more
Earnest v. Sanofi U.S. Services et al, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 20-30184 (Feb. 10, 2022) - The plaintiff sued Sanofi U.S. Services, Inc. and Sanofi-Aventis U.S., LLC in the Eastern District...more
A series of recent rulings out of the Southern District of Texas in an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter case reflect how well-planned discovery can lead to a successful multipronged summary judgment motion and can effectively...more
Searcy Denney is representing clients who have been implanted with the Short Modular Femoral Hip System and Modular REDAPT from Smith & Nephew in lawsuits alleging that the manufacturer failed to warn them of the risks...more
To prepare the best product liability defense for pharmaceuticals and medical devices as well as anticipate and strategically plan for future challenges in the medical and life sciences legal world, it is often helpful to...more
Massachusetts Federal Court In Prescription Drug Case Holds “Learned Intermediary” Rule Requiring Warnings Only To Prescribing Physician Applied Even Though Patient and Caregiver Were Physicians, But Experts’ Affidavits of...more
Massachusetts Federal Court Holds Proof of Testing of Proposed Alternative Design Not Required in Design Defect Claim, Evidence Plaintiff Ignored Defendant’s Warnings Did Not Establish He Was Sole Proximate Cause of Injury on...more
"Dear Doctor" letters were front and center in the recently tried case of Tietz v. Abbott Laboratories Inc., et al., No. 12-L-002715. On Thursday, May 9, 2013, a Chicago jury returned a $2.2 million verdict in favor of the...more