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Judge reduces $134m Wyeth judgement
A judge has reduced a $134m jury award to three Nevada women who claimed drugs made by Wyeth caused their breast cancer.
Washoe County District Judge Robert Perry granted the pharmaceutical giant’s motion to find the damages excessive, and he ordered that they be reduced to about $58m in total, $23m in compensatory and $35m in punitive damages.
Lawyers for the women said the reduced judgement still remains the largest personal injury award in Nevada history, and it is the largest award to date against the company, which faces about 5,300 similar lawsuits across the country in state and federal courts.
All the cases involve the drugs Premarin, an oestrogen replacement, and Prempro, a combination of oestrogen and progestin, which are prescribed to women to ease menopause symptoms.
Judge Perry said: “The court believes that this reduction in damages adequately compensates plaintiffs for the serious consequences which the jury found to have been caused by defendant, while also serving to punish defendant and deter others from similar conduct.”
Wyeth officials welcomed the ruling but said they still planned to appeal.
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