Learned Intermediary Doctrine Defeats Failure-To-Warn Claims in Ortho Evra Case

CLEVELAND — The learned intermediary doctrine bars claims brought against the makers of Ortho Evra because the plaintiff’s nurse practitioner testified that she read the warnings and understood the risks before prescribing the patch.

However, in the March 24 order, Judge David A. Katz of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio denied the drug makers’ motion for judgment on the plaintiff’s remaining state law claims, finding the pleadings put defendants on notice as to the nature of the allegations.

In 2006 B. Averhart, then 16, went to the Jackson County (Miss.) Health Department seeking birth control …