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 pharmaceutical 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:
- Hydrocodone
- Hormone replacements
- Antibiotics
- Anti-depressants
- Oral vaccines
- Surgical anesthetics
- Contraceptive drugs and devices
- Orthopedic implants and joint replacements
- Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs)
- Cardiovascular stents
- Catheters and balloons
- Pain pumps
- Defibrillators
- Anesthesia equipment
- Ultrasound and x-ray machines
- Surgical mesh
- Neurosurgical clips
- Intraocular lenses
- Ventilators
- Kidney lithotripters
- Diabetes medicines
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.
Jennifer Henry Jackson Selected for Ignite Louisville Class of Spring 2025
The Leadership Louisville Center has selected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Jennifer Henry Jackson to participate in the Ignite Louisville Class of Spring 2025. The six-month class teaches the key components of leadership to young professionals between the ages of 25 and 45 years old.
Benchmark Litigation 2025 Honors 14 Stites & Harbison Attorneys
The 2025 edition of Benchmark Litigation names 11 Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys as “Litigation Stars” and three as “Future Stars” in Kentucky. The guide honors the firms and attorneys who have demonstrated the ability to consistently handle complex, high-stakes cases in multiple jurisdictions.
Carol Dan Browning Named to 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America
Lawdragon has named Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Carol Dan Browning to the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America. This is the second consecutive time that Browning has been recognized by Lawdragon for her work in professional liability and drug and medical device litigation. She is one of only two Kentucky attorneys honored in 2025.
IADC 2024 Product Liability Roundtable
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
J&J World Headquarters, Corporate Conference Center, 1 Johnson and Johnson Plaza, New Brunswick, NJ
This full-day specialty roundtable, sponsored jointly by the Product Liability Committee and Drug, Device and Biotechnology Committee, creates a forum for in-house counsel and outside counsel to learn together and discuss new developments in the product liability arena. Roundtable will be held in New Brunswick, NJ on September 12, 2024. Program co-chair is Louisville office attorney Whitney Frazier
Carol Dan Browning Appointed Chair of Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Litigation Group
Stites & Harbison, PLLC recently appointed Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Carol Dan Browning as Chair of the firm’s Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Litigation Group.
Edward and Charles Stopher Join Stites & Harbison’s Louisville Office
Stites & Harbison, PLLC is pleased to announce that attorneys Edward H. Stopher and Charles H. Stopher of Boehl Stopher & Graves, LLP have joined the firm’s Louisville, Ky., office. They are members of the Torts & Insurance Practice Service Group and secondary members of the Business Litigation Service Group.
Benchmark Litigation Selects Stites & Harbison as 2024 Litigation Firm of the Year for Kentucky
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Benchmark Litigation recently named Stites & Harbison, PLLC as Litigation Firm of the Year for Kentucky at its 2024 Benchmark US Awards Gala. This is the fourth time Stites & Harbison has received the honor.
Thad Barnes and Michael Denbow Appointed to Lead Stites & Harbison’s Business Litigation Service Group
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC is pleased to announce that attorneys Thad M. Barnes and Michael Denbow have been appointed to Co-Chair the firm’s Business Litigation Service Group. Each attorney will continue their diverse legal practices in business litigation.
IADC (International Association of Defense Counsel) 2024 Mid-Year Meeting
JW Marriott Miami Turnberry, 19999 West Country Club Drive, Miami, FL - 33180
Louisville office attorney Whitney Watt will be a speaker at the IADC 2024 Mid-Year Meeting in Miami, Florida February 18-23.
Jennifer Henry Jackson Elected to CASA of the River Region’s Board of Directors
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of the River Region has elected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Jennifer Henry Jackson to its Board of Directors. She will serve a three-year term.