Ala. Supreme Court Holds Learned Intermediary Doctrine Applies Only to Physicians

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Alabama Supreme Court held March 5 that the learned intermediary doctrine does not apply to pharmacists and they do not have a duty to warn consumers of a drug's potential side effects. Walls v. Alphapharm USPD, Inc. et al. No. 1010645 (Ala. Sup. Ct.).

The state high court, which answered two certified questions stemming from a products liability case pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, said prescribing physicians have a better knowledge than pharmacists of the patient's medical history. The court ruled that physicians ultimately have a duty to warn …