Can no longer sue fir generics

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Patient Safety and Generic Labeling Improvement Act A Special Message To Our Clients And FriendsIn an effort to improve consumer health and safety, our firm supports Senate Bill (S. 2295) entitled “Patient Safety and Generic Labeling Improvement Act.â€This bill will overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Pliva v. Mensing, 131 S.Ct. 2567 (2011). There should be no special immunity to generic manufacturers of prescription drugs. However, the Pliva decision took away from consumers the right to access the courts to seek compensation from generic drug manufacturers for their failure to warn consumers of the serious risks associated with those generic drugs. This includes the risks of birth defects and autism from the use of generic SSRI antidepressant medications immediately before and during pregnancy.Mensing RulingLast year the Supreme Court decided a case called Pliva, Inc. v. Mensing, 131 S.Ct. 2567, which held that federal (FDA) drug regulations applicable to generic drug manufacturers directly conflict with, and therefore preempt, state laws that would otherwise allow lawsuits against generic drug manufacturers claiming that the manufacturers should have provided different or better warnings.After the Supreme Court’s decision many expected that courts in various states which had previously held that brand-name manufacturers could not be liable for generic drugs would reverse their opinions and/or that certain drug manufacturers in litigation might consider settlement demands on the chance that a court might find them liable. However, the law in most states where courts have addressed this issue remains that brand-name manufacturers are not liable for injuries caused by generic drugs. In ShortIn most states, if you took a generic drug, and you suffered injuries or had a child born with birth defects because of that drug, you would not be able to seek any form of compensation from the generic drug company. The generic drug company would be fully protected. We need your involvement in order to try and get this law changed!Links to the BillInformation regarding this bill can be found on Senator Leahy’s official website:“Leahy, en, Bingaman, Whitehouse, Brown, Coons, Blumenthal Introduce Bill To Protect Consumers Using Generic Drugsâ€This legislation, S. 2295: Patient Safety and Generic Labeling Improvement Act, may also be followed at govtrack.us.We hope that you too will support this legislation and encourage your U.S. Senator to support this legislation on your behalf. Without this legislation you and your family could be prevented from seeking compensation for injuries caused by generic medications.Click here to see a full list of Attorneys General who support this legislation.How to Take Action and Contact Your SenatorClick here to contact your U.S. Senator to support this legislation. To find your senator, click on the drop down menu and select your state.Each U.S. Senator has a web form which requests general information such as your name, address, etc. There is also a box where you may leave a message. Please let them know you support Senate Bill 2295, the “Patient Safety and Generic Labeling Improvement Act†and that you are asking for their support of this bill on your behalf. Let them know how unfair it is to have your state law right to sue generic drug manufacturers denied, and that you should be free to exercise that right in the event of an injury for which the manufacturer has failed to warn.Thank you for taking time to act on this important matter.Sincerely,The Attorneys and Staff of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, PC