WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court forcefully rejected calls Wednesday for limiting consumer lawsuits against drugmakers, upholding a $6.7 million jury award to a musician who lost her arm to gangrene following an injection.
The decision is the second this term to reject business groups’ arguments that federal regulation effectively pre- empts consumer complaints under state law.
Diana Levine of Vermont once played the guitar and piano professionally. Her right arm was amputated after she was injected with Phenergan, an anti-nausea medicine made by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, using a method that brings rapid relief but with grievous risks if improperly administered.
In a 6-3 decision, the court turned away Wyeth’s claim that federal approval of Phenergan and its warning label should have shielded the company from lawsuits.
