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Torts Keyed to Epstein
Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories
Citation:
607 P.2d 924 (Cal. 1980)ProfessorMelissa A. Hale
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Over the course of 30 years, from 1941 to 1971, the defendant drug manufacturers made and marked a drug called DES—a synthetic compound of the female hormone estrogen. The drug entered the public domain in 1938, so hundreds of manufacturers were making an identical drug. The drug was given to the plaintiff’s mother while pregnant for the purpose of preventing miscarriage. It had been authorized by this purpose by the FDA on an experimental basis with the requirement of a warning label to that effect. In 1971, the FDA ordered manufacturers to cease making and marketing DES for the purpose of preventing miscarriages, due to danger to unborn children. During the period in question, the defendants knew or should have known that DES was a carcinogen that caused pre-cancerous growths in the daughters of mothers who took it while pregnant, but they continued to market and advertise it as preventing miscarriages. It is unclear which specific manufacturer made the exact DES that the plaintiff’s mother ingested which in turn caused the plaintiff’s injury.
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Topic Resources
Topic Outline
NegligenceTopic Refresher Course
Negligence: Joint Tortfeasors, Identification and Contribution