(Download) "Wooderson v. Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp." by Supreme Court of Kansas ~ eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Wooderson v. Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp.
- Author : Supreme Court of Kansas
- Release Date : January 27, 1984
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 92 KB
Description
The opinion of the court was delivered by Plaintiff, Carol Lynn Wooderson, brought this action in the District Court of Sedgwick County for damages for personal injuries which she claims resulted from her ingestion, over a period of years, of the oral contraceptive Ortho-Novum 1/80, manufactured by the defendant, Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation (Ortho). At the conclusion of a six-week trial, the jury returned a verdict and the court entered judgment for plaintiff and against Ortho for actual damages of $2,000,000 and punitive damages of $2,750,000. Ortho appeals. The primary issues are whether there was sufficient competent evidence to support the verdict, and whether the trial court properly submitted the matter of punitive damages to the jury. Other issues will be stated in the opinion. Carol Lynn Wooderson consulted Dr. Richard L. Hermes of Lawrence, Kansas, a physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, in the fall of 1972. She was planning to be married and wanted some method of contraception. Dr. Hermes prescribed an oral contraceptive (o.c.), Ortho-Novum 1/80, manufactured by the defendant. This is an ethical drug, one obtainable only upon prescription, as distinguished from a proprietary or patent drug, one sold over the counter. Plaintiff was in good health at that time; her blood pressure was 100/56, and she had never had any problems with her kidneys or with high blood pressure. She took Ortho-Novum 1/80, as prescribed by her physician, continuously from the fall of 1972 until June 1976, with the exception of about thirty days in early 1974 when she had a rash on her hand and a physician suggested that she stop taking the pill until the rash went away. She saw Dr. Hermes in December 1974; his notes reveal nothing remarkable about her health at that time except that her blood pressure was 130/80. The prescription for Ortho-Novum 1/80 was extended for another year. Mrs. Wooderson next saw the doctor in January 1976. His notes reveal nothing remarkable except that her blood pressure was 120/90. She had a cold, and Tuss-Ornade was prescribed for that. The Ortho-Novum 1/80 prescription was also extended for one year. On May 4, 1976, she called Dr. Hermes; she still had a cold, and he called in a prescription for Tuss-Ornade. On June 25, 1976, she again called him. She reported stomach pains and vomiting. Medication to stop the vomiting [235 Kan. 390]
 "Wooderson v. Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp." by Supreme Court of Kansas ~ eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free){kind=link}