Litigation

Product liability hurting consumers dept.

By Ted Frank

Fallout from the ludicrous $356 million Teva Pharmaceuticals verdict (and earlier): Teva is announcing that it "will stop production of its sedative propofol, which many worry will intensify an already existing shortage of one of the most widely used anesthetics in the United States." [Simons via Overlawyered] Propofol is also one of the safest anesthetics, so consumer safety is hurt as well. It's a shame when trial lawyers put profits ahead of people.

(It's possible that problems at a manufacturing plant also contributed to, or even are the sole cause, of the decision: Teva has only cited "business reasons." However, propofol is a generic drug with low margins sold for a low price, so outsized jury verdicts threatening to extract the entirety of a company's profits over one low-margin drug in its portfolio surely can't be a positive factor.)

Full post as published by Point of Law on June 17, 2010 (boomark / email).