Comments on preemption

A little more than a year ago, in Riegel v. Medtronic, a majority of the Supreme Court held that a state claims in medical device cases were preempted by FDA regulation. In Wyeth v. Levine, a majority of the Supreme Court held that state tort suits should be preserved because they help uncover unknown drug hazards and provide incentives for drug manufacturers to disclose safety risks promptly. This has led many to ask why the Supreme Court would allow suits over drug labels, but not over medical devices. For comments on this question go here and here (a long comment by the folks of Drug and Device Law).