Court Watch - Thursday, October 2, 2008 10:06 - 0 Comments

Federal preemption is un-American

Sometimes lawyers make things so complicated that even they don’t understand what they are trying to communicate. That may be the case when it comes to attempting to explain federal preemption. This concept was virtually unknown, even in legal circles, until events of the last year thrust it into the spotlight. Basically it’s nothing more than a shield against lawsuits against makers of government-approved products, including medical devices and drugs. When you consider that preemption would apply to prescription medicines and over-the-counter drugs, the concept becomes even more illogical. The FDA has been little more than an extension of the powerful pharmaceutical industry and the fact of approval by the agency of a drug has proved to be no indication that the drug iss safe for use. Vioxx, an FDA-approved drug, is a prime example of that without any doubt. If federal preemption had been the law no Vioxx lawsuit could have been filed.

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