The New York Court of Appeals today said that New York law does not allow for
an independent cause of action for medical monitoring. The U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit asked the state's highest court to decide
whether current or former long-term smokers who have no sign of disease can
pursue an independent claim against a tobacco company to establish a medical
monitoring program.
"We believe that the New York Court of Appeals correctly held that there is no
basis under the law that supports creating a medical monitoring claim,” said
Murray Garnick, Altria Client Services senior vice president and associate
general counsel, speaking on behalf of Philip Morris USA. “In so ruling, the
New York Court of Appeals has joined with many courts throughout the country
in rejecting such a sweeping new cause of action.”
In its decision, the court said, “Allowance of such a claim, absent any
evidence of present physical injury or damage to property, would constitute a
significant deviation from our tort jurisprudence.”
In declining to create a new cause of action, the court expressed serious
concerns about the “potential systemic effects of creating a new, full-blown
tort law cause of action.” The court concluded that creating a medical
monitoring cause of action could result in “effectively flooding the courts”
and noted that “there is no framework concerning how such a medical monitoring
program would be implemented and administered.”
In 2011, a federal district court ruled that there was no legal basis for
claims made by plaintiffs in Caronia requesting that the company pay for
annual low-dose CT scans for long-term smokers to determine whether they have
lung cancer. The trial court dismissed the lawsuit finding that plaintiffs'
claims were legally invalid.
This case is Caronia v. Philip Morris USA, Inc.
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Loading...
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
Join Now: Free!
Already a member?Sign in