Fraud Claims to Proceed in Ky. Federal Depakote Birth Defect Action; Warning Claims Dismissed

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Failure-to-warn claims asserted against the makers of Depakote in a birth defect action are preempted because there is clear evidence that the FDA would not have approved a change to the drug’s label regarding the risk of cognitive developmental delay, a Kentucky federal judge has ruled.

However, in a Dec. 1 order, Chief Judge Joseph H. McKinley Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kentucky held that the plaintiffs provided sufficient evidence, in the form of expert opinions, that Depakote caused plaintiffs’ injuries. The judge further found plaintiffs adequately alleged that Abbott Laboratories …