Houston Personal Injury Lawyer

The family of a Texas woman was awarded $1.013 billion by a jury in Beaumont, Texas, on Tuesday.  The jury found the drug manufacturer Wyeth responsible for the woman’s death four years after she took “fen-phen” diet drugs made by Wyeth.

Cynthia Cappel-Coffey took Pondimin between November 1996 and June 1997. In December of 2001, Cappel-Coffey developed primary pulmonary hypertension, a fatal lung condition that killed her last year. Jurors awarded her family $113 million in compensatory damages and $900 million in punitive damages after six days of deliberation.

Wyeth has set aside $16.6 billion to settle lawsuits brought by former users of fen-phen. Most of the remaining cases are related to heart-valve damage resulting from use of the drugs. PPH cases represent less than one percent of diet drug litigation, according to Wyeth.

To learn more, contact the Houston Personal Injury Lawyers at Williams Kherkher by calling 1.800.220.9341.