Negligence, Fraud Claims to Proceed Against GSK in Generic Paxil Suicide Case

CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge has allowed negligence, products liability and fraud claims to proceed against GlaxoSmithKline in a case in which a law firm partner committed suicide after ingesting the generic equivalent of GSK’s Paxil.

On Feb. 28, Judge James B. Zagel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled that even though GSK is not the manufacturer of the generic drug that allegedly caused Stewart Dolin’s death, “this does not lessen the likelihood that GSK's allegedly tortious conduct would lead to Plaintiff's injury.” Under the Hatch-Waxman Act, whether a consumer ingests the name …