The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

The 8th District Court of Appeals in St. Louis has overturned a district court ruling from 2008 that blocked over 100 lawsuits filed against drug companies by women or their surviving family members who claim hormone replacement therapy caused breast cancer from being sent back to the state court in Minnesota, as well as those that were dismissed in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The appeals court ruled that the cases belonged in state court and that the district court judge did not have the jurisdiction to dismiss them. Furthermore, the appeals court said dozens of cases the lower court ruled should not have been part of the litigation since they mirrored claims that are pending in California.

Thousands of lawsuits were filed against a dozen drug companies, including Barr Laboratories Inc., Mead Johnson & Co., Pfizer Inc., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. (now part of Pfizer), and others over hormones prescribed to treat symptoms of menopause. One of the drugs focused on in the lawsuits is Prempro, a drug that combines estrogen and progestin.

The 8th Circuit granted a new trial requested by Upjohn Co. and Wyeth in November. The drug companies were challenging an Arkansas jury verdict that awarded a Little Rock plaintiff $27 million in punitive damages and $2.75 million in compensatory damages in February 2008. The jury had concluded that Wyeth did not adequately warn that Prempro and another drug, Premarin, carried an increased risk of breast cancer.

In October, 2009, a Philadelphia jury awarded a Peoria, Illinois woman $75 million in punitive damages and $3.75 million in compensatory damages when a link between hormone treatment and her breast cancer was found.

Pharmaceutical companies go to great lengths to deny their drugs harm patients and then work even harder to avoid paying out damages. We can help you get compensation and justice.

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury or become ill from taking a prescription drug, please contact the experienced pharmaceutical injury attorneys at the Cochran Firm for an initial consultation. We serve clients nationwide.

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