Pfizer Ordered to Pay Huge Settlement
On November 23, 2009, a Pennsylvania jury awarded $ 28 million in punitive damages to an Illinois woman who claimed her use of Pfizer Inc.’s hormone-therapy drugs caused breast cancer. On November 20, 2009, the jury initially awarded $6.3 million in compensatory damages in the case of Donna Kendall, of Decatur, Illinois after finding that Pfizer units had engaged in a pattern of willful and reckless conduct.
Wyeth was the primary seller of hormone-therapy drugs, and Pfizer recently acquired the company. Also, a separate Pfizer unit, Upjohn, was a defendant in the case.
Separately, in the case of another woman who alleged use of the drugs caused breast cancer, Connie Barton, a Pennsylvania jury last month ordered $75 million in punitive damages, on top of $3.7 million in compensatory damages. The amount of punitive damages had been kept confidential but was unsealed recently.
Taken together, juries in the two cases ordered Pfizer to pay more than $112 million in damages.
A major government study released in 2002 linked Wyeth’s hormone-therapy drugs including Premarin and PremPro, which are used to treat menopausal symptoms, to increased risk for breast cancer and other injuries. As of mid-year, Wyeth was a defendant in about 8,200 legal claims in state and federal courts, brought by women who alleged their use of the drugs caused personal injuries.
