Design Defect Claims Against Generic Dilantin Makers Preempted, La. Federal Judge Rules

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge has dismissed design defect claims brought against the makers of generic Dilantin, ruling they are federally preempted pursuant to Mutual Pharmaceutical Company Inc. v. Bartlett.

On Nov. 27, Judge Martin L.C. Feldman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana also granted Pfizer judgment on the pleadings because plaintiffs admitted that the decedent ingested only the drug’s generic version.

Jahmal and Jirus Tillman allege that their mother Rose Tillman died as a result of an adverse reaction to Dilation (phenytoin sodium).

According to the complaint, Tillman was taken to …