Drug Maker Shares Breast Cancer Survivor's Pain
A jury awards $42 million to a woman who says HRT caused her breast cancer.
Oct. 16, 2007— -- For Arlene Rowatt, a grandmother of eight, yesterday's verdict in the Wyeth hormone replacement therapy suit is a sweet victory.
A Nevada jury awarded Rowatt more than $42 million for her share of $99 million in punitive damages, and $35 million in compensatory damages — the largest ever judgment against the nation's leading maker of hormone replacement therapies.
Rowatt followed her doctors' orders and took Premarin, and then Prempro, to ease the symptoms of menopuase for nearly eight years.
"They kept telling me there may be some heart benefit, and I believed them," Rowatt said. "If you can't believe your doctor, who can you believe?"
Seven years ago, Rowatt was diagnosed with breast cancer. With no family history of breast cancer, she blamed the drugs for causing the disease.
"There is no other explanation," Rowatt said.
Rowatt's lawyers introduced internal documents they say proved that Wyeth knew their products increased the risk of breast cancer, nearly two decades before a pair of studies established a clear link that convinced many doctors to back off widespread use of hormone replacement therapy.
Wyeth claims the drugs, which are still on the market, are safe, and that the label gives clear warning about the risk of breast cancer. But the Washoe County District Court jury felt the warning did not go far enough.
Today, Wyeth appealed the verdict, but their legal troubles are far from over. The company still faces more than 5,000 similar lawsuits related to its hormone replacement medicines — and legal experts say this may be only the beginning.
"This is a therapy that millions of women took at one time, so the liability here for makers of this type of therapy is potentially huge," said Paul Rothstein of the Georgetown University Law Center.
Lawyers said drug makers have good reason to worry.
"I think pharmaceutical companies always look at the bottom line. Now, they have to look at the bottom line with their investors, because this is a verdict that hurts, and should hurt," said trial lawyer Robert Jenner.
Related Stories
ABC News Live