the Levine vs. Wyeth case is coming up

[Guest guest]

And perhaps those of us who pray should be praying hard for justice and

integrity to prevail in this case, which could open the door to forced

vaccinations too, as far as I understand this.

Here's the url, and the first page. There are more pages.

_http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/us/19scotus.html_

(http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/us/19scotus.html) and there are more

sources on google. I put

in: supreme court Levine vs. Wyeth

Drug Label, Maimed Patient and Crucial Test for Justices

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By _ADAM LIPTAK_

(http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/adam_liptak/index.\

html?inline=nyt-per)

Published: September 18, 2008

MARSHFIELD, Vt. — When Levine starts talking about her rock ’n’ roll

days, she plays a little air guitar, mimicking the way she used to handle her

electric bass in bands like the Re-Bops and Duke and the Detours. But Ms.

Levine is missing much of her right arm, which was amputated below the elbow

after a medical disaster.

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iel for The New York Times

Levine lost part of an arm after being given a drug. A jury ordered

Wyeth, a pharmaceutical company, to pay $6 million.

Readers' Comments

Readers shared their thoughts on this article.

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She sits at her kitchen table, strumming an imaginary guitar with a phantom

hand.

In November, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether Ms. Levine

may keep more than $6 million that a _Vermont_

(http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/national/usstatesterritoriesandpossessions/v\

ermont/index.html?inline=nyt-g

eo) jury ordered Wyeth, a pharmaceutical company, to pay her for failing to

warn her adequately about the risks of one of its drugs. The case, the

latest in a brisk parade of similar ones, will help define the contours of a

signature project of the court.

In legal jargon, the cases concern “pre-emption,†a doctrine that can bar

injured consumers like Ms. Levine from suing in state court when the products

that hurt them had met federal standards. The issue is less boring and more

consequential than it sounds, and Ms. Levine’s case is shaping up to be the

most important business case of the term.

“Federal pre-emption is the fiercest battle in products liability law

today,â€

said M. Sharkey, a law professor at _New York University_

(http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/new_york_un\

iversi

ty/index.html?inline=nyt-org) . “The court clearly recognizes this, as it

has agreed to hear so many cases and seems eager to give clarity to what has

been, to date, an undisputably muddled area of law.â€

A second pre-emption case, this one concerning cigarette labels, is scheduled

for the first argument of the new term, on Oct. 6.

Business groups, often supported by the Bush administration, have vigorously

pursued pre-emption arguments, hoping to build a barrier against many kinds

of injury suits. Plaintiffs’ lawyers oppose broad pre-emption doctrines,

saying they short-circuit valid claims arising from terrible injuries.

Ms. Levine is a trim, elegant 62-year-old who now favors three-quarter length

sleeves, just long enough to cover what remains of her right arm. But she

gestures enthusiastically with both arms, and she retains a playful side.

Her house is jammed with whimsical toys — a papier-mâché giraffe, an

enormous

telephone receiver. In the control room of her recording studio, there is a

copy of “Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb,†a children’s book. “It’s just

sarcasm,

†she explained.

In the spring of 2000, suffering from a _migraine_

(http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/migraine/overview.html?inline=n\

yt-classifier) , Ms.

Levine visited a clinic near here for a treatment she had received many times:

Demerol for the pain and Wyeth’s drug _Phenergan_

(http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/poison/promethazine-overdose/overview.h\

tml?inline=nyt-classifier)

for nausea.

“Nothing wrong with either drug,†Ms. Levine said. “They’re both safe

when

given the right way.â€

But if Phenergan is exposed to arterial blood, it causes swift and

irreversible _gangrene_

(http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/gas-gangrene/overview.html?inli\

ne=nyt-classifier) . For that reason, it is typically

administered by intramuscular injection. According to Ms. Levine’s lawyers,

using an

intravenous drip is almost entirely safe as well.

This time, though, a physician’s assistant used a third method. She injected

the drug into what she thought was a vein, a method known as “IV push.†But

the assistant apparently missed.

In the following weeks, Ms. Levine’s hand and forearm turned purple and then

black, and they were amputated in two stages.

The drug’s label, approved by the _Food and Drug Administration_

(http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/food_and_dr\

ug_administ

ration/index.html?inline=nyt-org) , had warned that “inadvertent

intra-arterial injection†can result in “gangrene requiring amputation.â€

But it did not

rule out administration of the drug by IV push.

Ms. Levine said no one had discussed the risks of IV push with her, or the

only benefit generally associated with intravenous administration — “more

potent and expeditious antinausea relief,†in the words of Wyeth’s brief.

“The benefit-risk is just outrageously ridiculous,†Ms. Levine said. “Any

child could figure this out.â€

Faster nausea relief, she said, is not worth the risk of losing an arm.

Ms. Levine settled a lawsuit against the clinic, and she went to trial in

Montpelier, not far from here, against Wyeth. She said Wyeth should have added a

stronger warning to the label that the F.D.A. had approved.

“All they had to do,†Ms. Levine said, “was change the label and say,

‘Don’

t give it this way.’ â€

Lawyers for Wyeth said that was not an option, at least in the absence of new

information. “Wyeth could not change Phenergan’s labeling to comply with

Vermont law without violating federal law,†they wrote in a brief. Ms.

Levine’

s lawyers disagreed, saying that tougher warnings were always permissible.

epiousian = the expression of agape

quite a bit more than enough

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[Guest guest]

>

> And perhaps those of us who pray should be praying hard for justice

and

> integrity to prevail in this case, which could open the door to forced

> vaccinations too, as far as I understand this.

>

Could you please spell this out? How would it open the door for forced

vaccinations?

[Guest guest]

Well , apparently no-one can force anyone -- including a child -- to

be vaccinated (and I know since I called the school's bluff and they backed

right down) because if they force and there is a bad reaction, the forcer can

be sued. If we agree, then it's caveat emptor (the responsibility is ours).

So if Wyeth gets off because the FDA approved phenergan so they can't be

sued, how big a segue is it to exonerate the drug companies for autism and any

other vaccine damage?

Sincerely,

Francine

epiousian = the expression of agape

quite a bit more than enough

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no registration required and great graphics – check it out!

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http://www.games.com?ncid=emlcntusgame00000001)