Thursday, March 6, 2008

Wyeth To Appeal Arkansas Hormone Therapy Trial Verdicts

Wyeth confirmed today that it will appeal the verdicts in the case of Donna Scroggin v. Wyeth, in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas, beginning with post-trial motions.

"There is no basis in fact or law for this award or for the earlier compensatory damage award. We will pursue several post-trial motions and will ultimately appeal the entire case if necessary. We are confident in our position on appeal," says Lyn P. Pruitt, an attorney with Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, PLLC, a firm representing Wyeth in the case.
On February 25, 2008, the jury awarded the plaintiff $2.75 million in compensatory damages against Wyeth and co-defendant Upjohn. After a second phase of the trial, the jury subsequently awarded $19,360,000 in punitive damages against Wyeth and $7,760,000 against Upjohn.
Of the six other cases that have gone to trial and reached resolution, four resulted in judgments for Wyeth, one resulted in a plaintiff's judgment, while the other was remanded for a new trial. Four other cases set for trial were dismissed by courts on summary judgment and a dozen other trial-set cases have been voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiffs before trial.
The first phase of the trial began on February 5, 2008 before The Honorable William R. Wilson. The second phase began on March 3, 2008. The plaintiff alleged that she developed breast cancer from the use of Premarin(R) and Prempro(R), products marketed by Wyeth.
Premarin (conjugated estrogens tablets USP) and Prempro (conjugated estrogens/medroxyprogesterone acetate tablets) are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective when used as indicated.

No comments: