Judge Allows Causation Testimony in Effexor Suicide Case

BENTON, Ill. - An Illinois woman can present evidence at trial that her husband's suicide was caused by the drug Effexor despite hesitation among the scientific community to speculate on causation in the wake of studies that have examined the link, a federal judge has ruled. Giles v. Wyeth Inc., No. 04-4245 (S.D. Ill.).

In what he described as a "close call," Judge J. Phil Gilbert of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois refused to exclude general and specific causation testimony offered in support of allegations that Jeff Giles was "pushed over the edge" by the …