5th Circuit Upholds Dismissal Of Vaccine Suit For Lack Of Evidence

NEW ORLEANS - A lawsuit brought against two major drug companies by a woman who allegedly received a contaminated polio vaccination nearly 40 years ago was properly dismissed for lack of product identification, the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has affirmed. Sarita I. Garcia v. Pfizer Inc., et al., No. 06-40703 (5th Cir.).

The panel ruled on Feb. 12 that dismissal by a Texas federal court was proper, because the plaintiff could not precisely identify either Pfizer Inc. or Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. as the manufacturer of the vaccine she received.

In 1992, Sarita I. Garcia was diagnosed with …