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University of Kentucky

Pharmaceutical

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Corporate Misconduct In The Pharmaceutical Industry, Richard C. Ausness Jan 2021

Corporate Misconduct In The Pharmaceutical Industry, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Sadly, many pharmaceutical companies have engaged in unethical or illegal behavior. The current opioid crisis is the most recent example of misconduct by pharmaceutical companies. Moreover, this pattern of conduct is neither rare, nor recent. Instead, it is long-standing and pervasive in nature. Furthermore, unlike wrongdoing by other businesses that cause primarily economic or environmental harm, wrongdoing by pharmaceutical companies, like that of asbestos or tobacco companies, may cause personal injuries and death on a large scale.


“Danger Is My Business”: The Right To Manufacture Unsafe Products, Richard C. Ausness Dec 2014

“Danger Is My Business”: The Right To Manufacture Unsafe Products, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

While no one would dispute that safety is a desirable objective, it may not always be an absolute priority. Rather, in some cases, other societal interests such as personal autonomy, consumer choice, product cost, and performance may trump legitimate safety goals. This is reflected in some of the doctrines and defenses that have evolved to protect the producers of unsafe products against tort liability. Some of these doctrines, such as those determining liability for the producers of optional safety equipment, inherently dangerous products, products with obvious hazards, and prescription drugs and medical devices, are part of the law of products …


Will More Aggressive Marketing Practices Lead To Greater Tort Liability For Prescription Drug Manufacturers?, Richard C. Ausness Jan 2002

Will More Aggressive Marketing Practices Lead To Greater Tort Liability For Prescription Drug Manufacturers?, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Manufacturers of prescription drugs have begun to market their products more aggressively than they did in the past. These marketing efforts are not confined to health care professionals alone; pharmaceutical companies now engage in extensive direct-to-consumer advertising on radio and television, in the print media, and even on the Internet. While these promotional efforts no doubt increase sales, they may also lead to greater tort liability for drug-related injuries. The most likely theories of liability are failure to warn and negligent marketing. Liability for inadequate warnings will almost certainly increase if courts abandon the learned intermediary rule and require drug …


Learned Intermediaries And Sophisticated Users: Encouraging The Use Of Intermediaries To Transmit Product Safety Information, Richard C. Ausness Jan 1996

Learned Intermediaries And Sophisticated Users: Encouraging The Use Of Intermediaries To Transmit Product Safety Information, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The general rule, under both negligence principles and strict products liability, is that a producer or supplier is required to warn users or consumers of its products. In most cases, this duty can be satisfied by placing a warning label on the product itself or by providing safety information in an owner's manual or in other literature attached to or enclosed with the product. However, there are some situations where it is difficult or impracticable to provide a direct warning to the ultimate user or consumer. In such cases, producers and suppliers should be able to satisfy their duty to …