Personal Injury Law

Eli Lilly Agrees to $1.4 Billion Settlement

By Editor

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly agreed to a $1.4 billion settlement of charges that it illegally marketed an antipsycotic drug.

The billion-dollar settlement comes as some experts were predicting a downward trend for these jury awards. In 2008, there were no billion-dollar jury awards. This is due in part to a 2003 Supreme Court ruling that essentially capped punitive damages at 10-times the amount of actual damages.

But the Eli Lilly case already gives 2009 a billion-dollar settlement only a few weeks into the new year. The case revolves around Zyprexa and the FDA’s approval of the drug for use only in certain circumstances. The FDA did not approve the drug for use by children, elderly or patients who had trouble sleeping.

But so called "off-label" marketing practices - promoting the drug for use in non-approved scenarios - led to the lawsuit.

Read more about pharmaceutical and defective drug personal injury lawsuits.

Full post as published by The Injury Blog on January 16, 2009 (boomark / email).