Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Litigation
Stites & Harbison represents a broad cross-section of pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers in complex and high-profile litigation. For over twenty years, we have provided our clients with sophisticated and experienced trial and appellate counsel at the local, regional, and national level.
We serve as national and regional counsel for brand-name companies, defending against federal and state court product liability and mass torts actions, class actions, and multi-district litigation. Our attorneys possess a broad range of skills and experience handling a variety of drug and medical device matters, including off-label promotion and use, misuse, fraud on the FDA, public sector pricing disputes, and defending actions brought by attorneys general.
Stites & Harbison defends a wide spectrum of pharmaceutical and medical products, including:
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We strive to provide exceptional client service by understanding our clients’ business concerns and crafting effective legal strategies that both protect our clients’ products and minimize the costs of litigation.
Representative matters include:
- Trial counsel in state and federal courts nationwide for a manufacturer of implantable orthopedic devices
- Nationwide defense of a manufacturer of an infusion pump prescribed for patient-controlled analgesia
- Nationwide defense of a line of cardiovascular catheters used to treat coronary occlusions
- Supervising trial counsel in mass tort litigation involving more than 2,000 plaintiffs in Kentucky
- Lead counsel in the defense of a pharmaceutical company in Kentucky resulting in summary judgment in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
- Defending brand-name and generic pharmaceutical manufacturers in mass tort claims alleging undisclosed side effects of drug usage.
Will COVID-19 Toll the Statute of Limitations in Product Liability Actions?
As the COVID-19 pandemic stretches into 2021 with no clear end in sight, a good question for product liability defendants is whether the pandemic will have a tolling effect on the applicable statute of limitations. In product liability cases, state law provides a statute of limitations to bar untimely-filed claims against the product manufacturer, distributor, or retailer. The point is to provide a predictable time period for a plaintiff to investigate the claim, identify the proper parties, and file suit.
Whitney Frazier Watt Appointed to Governor’s Scholars Board of Directors
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has appointed Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Whitney Frazier Watt to the Board of Directors of the Governor’s Scholars Program.
Marjorie Farris to Be First Woman to Lead Stites & Harbison Law Firm
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC, announced today that Kentucky native Marjorie A. Farris will become the firm’s new Chair effective January 2021. She will be the first woman to lead the firm since its founding in 1832.
Brittany Cross Carlson Selected for Leadership Kentucky’s Class of 2020
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Leadership Kentucky has selected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney J. Brittany Cross Carlson as a member of the 2020 Leadership Kentucky program.
New Kentucky Statute Provides Defenses To Medical Workers Who Treat COVID-19 Patients
On March 30, 2020, Kentucky Senate Bill 150 became effective which addresses numerous issues arising from the COVID-19 state of emergency. Included in that new statute is a provision that for any health care provider who, in good faith, renders care or treatment of a COVID-19 patient during the state of emergency, those health care providers shall have a defense to civil liability for ordinary negligence for any personal injury resulting from that care or treatment or failure to provide or arrange further medical treatment.
Robert Connolly Elected to The Nature Conservancy Board of Trustees
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Nature Conservancy recently elected Stites & Harbison, PLLC Chair, Robert M. Connolly, to its Board of Trustees of the Kentucky Chapter.
Lauren Paxton Roberts honored as Nashville Bar Foundation Fellow
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The Nashville Bar Foundation recently named Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Lauren Paxton Roberts as a Fellow.
Ashley Ward Inducted as Fellow of American College of Trial Lawyers
LEXINGTON, Ky. —Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Ashley W. Ward was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) on March 7, 2020, at the Annual Meeting in Tucson, Ariz.
Stites & Harbison elects three attorneys to Management Committee
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC recently elected three members to the firm’s six-member Management Committee, replacing three attorneys who completed their terms of service. The new committee members are attorneys Erika Barnes, Carol Dan Browning and Richard Wehrle.