Sunday, August 01, 2004

Bush Hates Americans!

In an amazing attempt to protect companies that maim and kill Americans, Bush has some new ideas for our courts. In a civil suit in Philadelphia the Bush Administration has stepped in to protect a drug company.

In a recent ruling, a federal appeals panel in Philadelphia, after seeking the
administration's views, threw out a lawsuit filed by the widow of a man whose
heart pump failed. Whatever the legal merits of this close two-to-one decision,
which turned on the degree to which the F.D.A. can pre-empt state laws and court
decisions, most fair-minded Americans would probably think that the widow got a
bum deal. The facts of the case as alleged in court documents suggest that the
heart pump, though approved by the agency, was designed poorly.

The administration argues that allowing consumers to sue the manufacturers would undermine federal regulation of drugs and devices by encouraging lay judges and juries to second-guess the experts at the F.D.A. The result could be a hodgepodge of conflicting judgments around the country as to the safety of a product and the need to change warning labels. Skittish manufacturers might then remove good products from the market or issue scary warnings that would discourage their use.



Now think about this. EVERY dangerous drug/product on the market that has killed or injured someone was approved by the FDA. Every drug company that witheld information that their drug was harmful...well, THEY were FDA approved! this sort of policy would close off the courts from anyone harmed by a drug that the manufacturers knew was a danger. This is nothing less than a wholesale dismissal of our protections in a court of law.

Welcome to election year pander-politics, Bush Style. you think he's looking out for you?

the argument they've put forth is that all drugs approved by the FDA should be immune from lawsuits. the idea is that the lawsuit interferes with the

1 comment:

Polly said...

explain how it isn't. if you think this is anything less than an effort to block all suits regarding FDA approved 'products' then you have not been tracking the GOP actions in state legislatures as well as the movements nationally. I spent the bulk of this year lobbying for the Trial Attorneys and it is absolutely the goal and purpose.

i've seen more on the GOP strategy here than you could imagine.