Paxil Failure-To-Warn Claims are Not Preempted, Judge Rules

OKLAHOMA CITY - Federal law does not preempt failure-to-warn claims brought against the manufacturer of Paxil because the drug maker provided no evidence that it tried to strengthen the label's warnings regarding pregnancy-related risks prior to September 2005, an Oklahoma federal judge has ruled. Hayes, et ux. v. GlaxoSmithKline, No. 07-0682 (N.D. Okla.).

On Dec. 14, Chief Judge Claire V. Eagan of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma also denied GlaxoSmithKline's motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs' punitive damage claims, ruling that a jury could find that GSK "acted recklessly or with conscious disregard for the …