Just when the Supreme Court is preparing to hear arguments on pharmaceutical preemption (a ruling that could potentially quash the consumers’ right to sue a drug manufacturer for a defective drug), the FDA admitted they had received 21,000 reports of serious drug reactions, including more than 4,800 deaths during the first quarter of this year.
An “adverse drug reaction” is defined as ones that causes hospitalization, requires medical intervention, or places a life in jeopardy. The number of adverse events was 38 percent higher than the average for the previous four calendar quarters, and a nearly three-fold increase over 2007.
