As a medical device or pharmaceutical manufacturer, you are in the cross-hairs of plaintiffs’ lawyers who file product liability lawsuits—sometimes regardless of potential merit.
Companies facing these challenges have relied on us at Reed Smith in product liability litigations, both large and small, for more than 40 years. We partner with life sciences companies in the defense of these cases, so businesses like yours can continue to drive important, life-saving progress for your patients.
For many clients, our work has started before a lawsuit even has been filed, with fixed fee product liability risk assessments designed to give your company a quick handle on potential defense themes, legal issues, and vulnerabilities. Forewarned is forearmed.
While we’re always happy to defend one-off cases or act as local or regional counsel, we have built our national reputation by successfully representing life sciences manufacturers like you in high-profile complex and mass tort product liability litigation, as well as related class actions, third party payor lawsuits, and False Claims Act cases.
We’re trial lawyers at heart, but we recognize that the earlier we can eliminate a case—or if we can help you avoid it altogether—the better it is for your business.
If litigation does start, we field lean teams with deep experience and hit the ground running. We know the plaintiffs’ lawyers’ playbook, and we help drive defense strategies, and the law, forward through a variety of tools, including our participation in the essential Drug and Device Law Blog.
In discovery, we fight against the disproportionate and asymmetrical burdens, and we have an in-house Records & E-Discovery team that can efficiently and cost-effectively handle electronic discovery and document review.
When heading to trial is necessary, we’re able to deploy multiple, experienced trial lawyers throughout the United States. In recent years, our lawyers have taken more than 35 defense verdicts at trial, many in the most difficult jurisdictions in the country. We also have appellate lawyers who not only win positions for us after verdicts/rulings, but who also proactively ensure creation of favorable records beforehand.
And when settlement is the right course, we strategically position the case for advantageous resolution to meet or exceed your settlement and alternative dispute resolution goals. When mass torts require parallel litigation and settlement tracks, we have a separate team of authorities who negotiate global resolution strategies.
Our work in this area has included a broad range of medical products, including contraceptives and hormone therapies, surgical mesh, diabetes medications, defibrillators, antidepressants, orthopedic implants, diet drugs, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines, heart valves, bone screws, latex gloves, biologics, and many others.
Not surprisingly, this dedicated work has led us to be consistently ranked as one of the top life sciences product liability practices in the United States by publications including Chambers, Legal 500, and The American Lawyer. Of course we appreciate the recognition, but what we appreciate more is our role representing clients like you this most important industry.