Personal injury plaintiff Donna Scroggin filed a lawsuit against the drug maker Pfizer Inc. asserting that Pfizer’s hormone-replacement drugs helped to cause her cancer.
A jury awarded Scroggin $2.7 million in actual damages and over $27 million in punitive damages. The trial judge, however, dismissed the punitive damage award. Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for St. Louis backed the the jury’s finding that the drugs caused Ms. Scroggin’s cancer but also backed the judge’s decision to throw out the punitive award.
Because the appeals court found that there was sufficient evidence presented for a finding of punitive damages, however, the case goes back to the trial court for potentially a new trial on punitive damages only.
The case is Donna Scroggin v. Wyeth, 08-2555, 08-2711, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (St. Louis)
Tags: San Francisco Personal injury attorney Brett Burlison discusses Pfizer case.
