Warning, Design Defect Claims in Generic Keppra Case Preempted, Ken. Federal Judge Rules

PADUCAH, Ky. — A Kentucky federal judge has dismissed a generic Keppra action, ruling that the plaintiff’s failure-to-warn and design defect claims are preempted because they would require the manufacturer to change the drug’s label or design, which is prohibited by federal law.

On Nov. 10, Judge Greg N. Stivers of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kentucky also barred the plaintiff from appealing the decision, explaining that such an appeal would be “frivolous and not taken in good faith.”

Pro se plaintiff Cindy Mitchell alleged her ingestion of the generic equivalent of anti-seizure drug Keppra (levetiracetam) caused …