מתוך medicontext.co.il
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson said on Monday that it will ask a Mississippi judge to overturn or reduce a $100 million jury award to 10 people who claimed they were hurt by the firm's heartburn treatment, Propulsid, before it was recalled last year after being indirectly linked to 80 deaths.
A jury in Port Gibson, Mississippi, late on Friday awarded $10 million in compensatory damages to each of the 10 plaintiffs, who claimed they had suffered anxiety, heart problems and other health setbacks after taking Propulsid.
Another 145 former users of Propulsid are also waiting for their cases against the New Jersey-based healthcare giant to come to trial in Mississippi, and scores of additional plaintiffs are believed to have filed similar lawsuits in other states.
The plaintiffs claimed victory on Friday in Claiborne County Circuit Court, where the nation's first Propulsid case went to trial.
But the presiding judge in the trial, Lamar Pickard, said that the company's conduct did not merit adding punitive damages to the $100 million award.
J&J argued there is no proof that its medicine actually harmed the plaintiffs, although the drug has been associated with an increased risk of heart rhythm disturbances.
"The company will ask the judge to overturn or reduce the verdict. Later, if necessary, we will appeal the verdict," a J&J spokesman said on Monday.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs could not immediately be reached for comment.
"I don't think the verdict in Mississippi is a big deal," said Glenn Reicin, an analyst for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, who predicted that the $100 million award will be reduced drastically if J&J formally appeals the verdict. "Mississippi juries have a history of giving big awards in product-liability awards, only to have them slashed on appeal," the analyst added.
Reicin said that Pickard's decision not to allow punitive damages in the case indicated that the judge believed the company had been straightforward with US regulators and the public about potential Propulsid safety problems.
Propulsid, approved in 1993, was taken off the market last year after increasing signs that it could cause heart rhythm problems in patients with heart disease or patients taking certain other medications. It is still available, however, on a limited basis to some patients who cannot be helped by other therapies.
Shares of J&J closed up 0.02 at 55.42 on the New York Stock Exchange.
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