Doctor’s Failure to Read Warnings Relieves Generic Makers of Liability, Wash. Court Rules

TACOMA, Wash. — A Washington appeals court has found in favor of generic Reglan makers on claims that they failed to incorporate updated warnings in their labeling, ruling that the prescribing doctor’s failure to read the package insert relieved them of liability.

In an April 30 published opinion, the Washington Court of Appeals, Division II, also held that state and federal law did not require the manufacturers to communicate the drug’s risks to the doctor in ways other than the package insert.

Diane Sherman was prescribed metoclopramide in September 2004 for severe digestive issues and continued to take the drug …