Tobacco.org

• Supreme Court cases could shield drug, tobacco companies from product liability lawsuits 

The case, along with a separate tobacco lawsuit against Altria Group Inc., centers on whether federal regulation of products overrides state laws, including those that govern when a person or company can be held liable for another's injury.

The court's ruling in the Wyeth case "potentially could apply to all lawsuits against all manufacturers of prescription drugs," said Mark Herrmann, an attorney at Jones Day in Chicago who represents drug and medical device companies. "It's the 800-pound gorilla."

That's because the vast majority of lawsuits against drugmakers involve the same issue: whether the company provided sufficient notice of potential hazards in the product's label. Pharmaceutical labels are approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

If the court issues a broad ruling in favor of Wyeth, other industries likely will follow suit

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