Publication

Product Liability Update - April 2025

April 08, 2025

Foley Hoag LLP publishes this quarterly Update primarily concerning developments in product liability and related law from federal and state courts applicable to Massachusetts, but also featuring selected developments for New York and New Jersey. If you find this update useful, please encourage your colleagues and contacts to also register with us on our website. As always, you can access all of our publications at https://foleyhoag.com.

Included in this Issue:

MASSACHUSETTS
  • Massachusetts Federal Court Holds Federal Food, Drug, And Cosmetic Act Preempts Failure-To-Warn Claim Against Migraine Drug Manufacturers Because FDA Approved Label Knowing Who Was Excluded From Clinical Testing And No Newly Acquired Information Permitted Defendants To Unilaterally Modify Label Under FDA’s “Changes Being Effected” Regulation
  • Massachusetts Federal Court Grants Summary Judgment On Failure-To-Warn Claims Against Medical Device Manufacturer Where Governing Law Did Not Apply “Heeding Presumption” And Plaintiff Failed To Elicit Deposition Testimony From Surgeon Regarding Whether Different Warning Would Have Changed Decision To Use Device
NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY SUPPLEMENT
  • New Jersey Appellate Division Holds As Matter Of Law Automobile Not Defectively Designed For Lack Of Lane Departure Warning And Lane Keeping Assist Systems, As Risk Of Departing From Lane Is Inherent And Known To Ordinary User And Vehicle’s Steering System Was Reasonably Fit For Maintaining Lane
  • New York Federal Court Holds Plaintiff’s Expert’s Testimony That Asbestos Exposure From Defendant’s Vessels Caused Plaintiff’s Lung Cancer Inadmissible Due To Failure To Quantify Plaintiff’s Alleged Exposure
  • New York Federal Court Dismisses Design And Manufacturing Defect Claims Against Surgical Stapler Manufacturer For Failure To Identify Specific Defect, Reasonable Alternative Design Suitable For Decedent’s Surgery And Connection Of Staple Line Leak To Decedent’s Death Months Later, But Holds Failure-To-Warn Claim Adequately Pled Based On Failure To Instruct Surgeons About Higher Failure Rate Of Longer Staple Line Lengths And Need For Additional Precautions, And Withholding Of Adverse Event Information By Submitting Only Summary Report For FDA’s Public Database
Download the April 2025 Foley Hoag Product Liability Update (pdf).