Second Circuit Affirms That Drug Manufacturer Is Not Liable for Drug-related Death

NEW YORK - The Second Circuit has affirmed a Connecticut court's ruling that the "learned intermediary" doctrine insulates a drug manufacturer from liability to a plaintiff whose husband died after taking a sample of the drug Ansaid, which was not labelled with precautions and warnings, because plaintiff's doctor was aware of the possible dangers associated with taking the drug. Vitanza v. The Upjohn Co., No. 99-7539 (2nd Cir.).

The Second Circuit's Nov. 13 decision affirmed a federal court's grant of defendant Upjohn's motion for summary judgment based on the Connecticut Supreme Court's unanimous decision that the intermediary doctrine applied to …