People have to take responsibility for the consequences of their acts

Charleston Daily Mail ^ | 8.23/2002 | Charleston Daily Mail

[gophergop]

People have to take responsibility for the consequences of their acts

Charleston Daily Mail

August 23, 2002

http://www.dailymail.com/news/Opinion/200208231/

Friday August 23, 2002; 09:13 AM

Rebecca Allen, 41, of Fairlea, who had injected OxyContin, died. Lawyer Ed ReBrook of Hunt and Serreno in Charleston sued Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of the drug, on behalf of Brian W. Allen, the administrator of Rebecca Allen's estate.

The suit contended that the company "negligently manufactured and aggressively promoted and sold Oxycontin to pharmacies and physicians in West Virginia, and that, unbeknownst to those residents of West Virginia, including Plaintiff, but known to the manufacturer" the drug was unreasonably dangerous.

Lawyer Henry Jernigan of Dinsmore and Shohl of Cincinnati represented the company. He contended Allen caused her own death.

"The plaintiff, having crushed and injected the OxyContin, destroyed the safeguards from that product, thus resulting in her own death," he said.

Greenbrier Circuit Judge James J. Rowe sided with common sense and dismissed the case.

The death of a 41-year-old woman is unquestionably a tragedy.

But the court made an important finding here, and it should resound throughout society: No matter how one structures society, people must take responsibility for the consequences of their own actions.

Rowe found that neither the manufacturing nor the distribution of the drug caused Mrs. Allen's death. He found that her own actions, or those of her husband, caused her death.

"There are no disputed material facts on the issue of what caused Mrs. Allen's death," he said. "The facts are undisputed. The intravenous injection of OxyContin into Mrs. Allen by herself or her husband caused Mrs. Allen's death. There is simply no evidence to the contrary.

"The facts show that the plaintiff (Brian Allen) and Mrs. Allen willfully and purposefully ignored and circumvented all safety measures put in place by Defendant," he wrote.

"Though the various warnings provided by the Defendant clearly laid out the possibility that their actions could lead to a fatal overdose, Plaintiff and Mrs. Allen proceeded to crush, liquefy and inject the OxyContin into Mrs. Allen's veins.

"Finally, the undisputed facts show that Mrs. Allen was already a drug abuser when the OxyContin was legally prescribed to her," the judge ruled.

Her husband said she smoked marijuana, injected cocaine, and used morphine and other pain medications.

The liberty guaranteed to Americans under the Constitution produces many benefits. Among them is a private sector that develops most of the pharmaceutical breakthroughs from which the world benefits. OxyContin is a godsend to people who must live with intractable pain.

But liberty is a double-edged sword. Individuals are responsible for what they do with their freedom.

The modern American habit of looking for some deep pocket to pay for the consequences of personal folly needs to stop.

[marktwain]

This is an excellent decision. Unfortunately, is has no value as precident. That is one of the flaws in the current amerian system of jurisprudence. Scummy lawyers like this can keep finding irresponsible people, and keep filing lawsuits until they file with the right judge (which they very carefully shop for) and the right jury. Then they are rewarded with millions and the company is bankrupted.

These legal vultures can lose case after case after case, and never have to pay for the costs they are incurring. They only have to get lucky once, and then all the rest of us lose.