Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy

Each year sees thousands of lawsuits filed to seek recovery from manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. In this high-stakes, rapidly-evolving field of practice, this book provides valuable assistance to lawyers through strategic guidance, practice pointers, and discussion on key shifts in the legal landscape since the first edition.

Thousands of lawsuits continue to be filed in federal and state courts each year to seek recovery from manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. These lawsuits include individual actions, actions consolidated into federal multidistrict litigation, multi-plaintiff cases, and class actions. As drug and device litigation remains as active as ever, companies that develop new drugs and devices continue to face significant and often costly product liability litigation in the United States.This new and revised edition of Drug & Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy provides detailed background, discussion, and strategic guidance to those practicing in this field. The book offers lawyers a detailed analysis of the full range of issues involved in drug and device litigation, including pre-litigation counselling, document preservation and discovery, consolidation and mass joinder, multidistrict litigation, class action litigation, admissibility of expert testimony, dispositive and pre-trial motion practice, jury selection, and trial. This second edition not only contains thorough revisions to reflect recent changes in the legal landscape following key court decisions and statutory developments in areas such as preemption, admissibility of expert testimony, the learned intermediary doctrine, and innovator liability, but also contains new analyses of issues such as personal jurisdiction, pre-litigation counselling, and the amended Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It is an indispensable guide to lawyers handling cases in this high-stake, high-profile, and rapidly evolving area.