Ill. Judge Refuses to Set Aside $2.2 Million Plaintiff’s Verdict in Humira Case

CHICAGO – An Illinois state judge has denied Abbott Laboratories’ (NYSE: ABT) request to set aside a $2.2 million plaintiff’s verdict issued in the first Humira case to go to trial, ruling that the drug maker's special interrogatory was insufficient to override the jury's finding of general negligence.

In the Aug. 21 order, Judge William J. Haddad of the Cook County (Ill.) Circuit Court explained that the special interrogatory was not based on risk-benefit product liability analysis, but rather a duty of care, therefore the jury’s affirmative answer does not negate the verdict. The judge also denied Abbott’s motion for …