Evidence of Post-Death Warnings Were Properly Excluded in a Wrongful Death Action When The Later Warnings Were Addressed to a Different Age Group Than the Deceased
GILES v. WYETH, INC. (February 12, 2009)
Coal miner Jeff Giles suffered a serious neck injury in the 1990s, which continued to cause him pain and limited his mobility for years. In 2002, the mine laid him off. Soon after, he had neck surgery, from which he failed to heal properly. Then, the mine announced its permanent closure. In late 2002, Giles’ doctor diagnosed him as having major depression. He prescribed Effexor, made by Wyeth, Inc. After taking Effexor for two days, Giles committed suicide. Effexor did contain a warning at the time. It recommended close supervision, “good patient management,” and the smallest dosage. In the following years, both Wyeth and the FDA learned more about a potential relationship between antidepressants and an increase in suicidal thinking in teens and adolescents. The FDA required stronger warnings of suicide risks in young people, eventually including persons up to the age of twenty-five. Giles’ widow brought a wrongful death action against Wyeth. The court granted a Wyeth motion in limine and excluded evidence of post-2002 suicide warnings. A jury found for Wyeth. Jacquelyn Giles appeals.
In their opinion, Judges Manion, Rovner and Williams affirmed. First, the Court resolved a dispute between Giles and Wyeth as to the basis for the district court’s ruling on the exclusion of the warnings. After reviewing the pre-trial and trial record, the Court concluded that the judge relied on Rule 403, weighing the evidence’s probative value against the danger of confusion, and not Rule 407. In analyzing the application of Rule 403 to the evidence, the Court determined that the court below did not abuse its discretion. Several factors contributed to that finding: a) the warnings applied only to children, adolescents, and, to some degree, adults under the age of twenty-five (Jeff Giles was forty-six at the time of his death), b) the warnings actually disclaimed increased risk of suicide in adults, c) the 2002 warnings already addressed the general risk of suicide, and d) there is no evidence that the later warnings were based on information that Wyeth knew or should have known in 2002. Finally, the Court rejected Giles’ argument that the lower court should not have admitted post-2002 scientific evidence, particularly in light of its ruling to exclude the later warnings. The Court distinguished between the probative value of the two based on the issue in the case – whether Effexor caused Giles to commit suicide. The later warnings are not relevant to that determination; the later scientific evidence is.
