Communication Tools

Today, it’s Vioxx. Yesterday, it was Paxil-related self-harm and suicide cases. Tomorrow it will be something else.

Every new round of personal injury lawsuits ups the ante. Not merely profit margins, the very survival of major drug companies has been questioned in the wake of current class action lawsuits over allegedly dangerous drugs and wrongful death allegations.

Meanwhile, public awareness of generic drug imports poses a constant challenge to the reputation of drug manufacturers. Major drug companies must constantly defend the fact that they’re in business to make money.

One day major drug companies must face contentious regulators. The next day they’re accused by NGOs of being in cahoots with those very same regulators.

If paxil lawsuits, adverse drug reactions, wrongful death settlements, the Vioxx trials, and pharmaceutical recalls prove anything, they prove that the outcomes of current class action lawsuits are up for grabs. The defense wins one, the plaintiff wins another. As the headlines swing back and forth on a daily basis, public opinion is also up for grabs. Class action settlements are interpreted in opposite ways.

In this ongoing war, both sides have stories to tell. For the plaintiffs, it’s a story about mass torts and wrongful death settlements, of self-interest overtaking corporate responsibility. For major drug companies, it’s a story about informed patients who have the right to decide for themselves, and it’s about the kind of R&D that will save lives in the future.   

Expect the battle over settlements and litigation for personal injury to rage on for decades to come. The upper hand will belong to the side that delivers its message most aggressively and most persuasively.