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GlaxoSmithKline was ordered to pay $3 million to the widow of an attorney who committed suicide after taking a generic version of its Paxil antidepressant, because the federal court jury decided the drug maker failed to properly warn about the risk of its medicine.

The five-week trial was closely watched because it turned on a contentious issue — whether consumers can successfully sue a brand-name drug maker if they suffered harm after taking a pill made by a generic rival. In this instance, Stewart Dolin, 57, had taken a generic version of Paxil that was sold by Mylan Pharmaceuticals, which was also named when the lawsuit was originally filed, but was later dismissed.

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The lawsuit targeted Glaxo, however, because federal regulations do not allow generic companies to independently change product labeling after learning of potential risks, unless such a change has already been made to the corresponding brand-name drug. The regulation was upheld six years ago in a controversial ruling by the US Supreme Court.

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  • About damn time, Paxil, Neurontin, Celebrex all SRRI’s and several others that say CAN CAUSE DEATH, CAUSES CERTAIN CANCERS, HEART FAILURE Ect… I was on most of them back in the 1990s when they were 1st coming out with them, tried or wanted to committed, kicked the crap out of a few people and want to kick more every time going on what was supposed to be a new medicine. Same with seizure meds, anti depressants along with other I don’t remember now. !998 got off 0ver 2000pills a month and all the options and went on opaites in 1998 when 1st child was born and did great for 19 years. Now opaites killing 44 people a day doctors tried and 2 put me on meds have major problems with, ender up in ER and put into a 7 day induced coma, had heart failure while having and fighting stage 4 cancer with about 4 months to live (at that time) They refused giving me pain meds and changed to another one(gabapentin) within 3 weeks went off on neighbor (6’6, 380 pounds and 13 years old son) for no reason besides med and I was 6’o at 140 lost weight from cancer, down to 118. Only treatment I received from having stage 4 throat cancer was chemo (8) and (38) days of radiation and nothing else, not even to help with disability, migraines chronic along with pain from auto accident 2 weeks into cancer treatment. Fight like hell to get help with the pain and cut me back saying they don’t treat people like me and tried stopping all and gave me heart failure, my pain management doctors. When I asked what people with stage 4 cancer, disable 99.23% under federal guidelines from 1996 and gotten worse not better at all? They would just say don’t treat people like me and walk out and still wants to get paid and still left in room alone waiting for me to leave. I can’t walk now and takes me a long time to get up and going, they would come back in and tell me to hurry up and leave. I would yell at them saying I FU***** TRYING!!! Since auto accident I literally can not walk 10 feet anymore and getting up/moving hurts like hell, they have/are crippling me.

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