A Mirena lawsuit filed by a woman alleging the intrauterine contraceptive device caused her to suffer pseudotumor cerebri – characterized by severe headaches, blurred vision and permanent 40 percent vision lost in her right eye – is moving forward.
Plaintiff previously overcame defendant drug manufacturer Bayer’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. Now, a recently-updated docket in Stanley v. Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reveals the parties are engaged in various Daubert motion hearings, arguing for submission of their respective expert witnesses’ testimony into evidence.
Daubert Standard hearings are standard in these product liability lawsuits because they rely so heavily on scientific evidence to prove causation and damages. It’s a standard that was adopted into the Federal Rules of Evidence (and soon after by many states) following the 1993 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Daubert v. Merrel Dow Pharmaceuticals. In that case, the court agreed on several guidelines for the admission of expert witness scientific testimony. These include the judge as gatekeeper, relevance and reliability, analysis of scientific methodology and review of illustrative factors. Read More
