Stories like the following provide a sort of Rorschach test for those inclined to weigh in on the health care debate.

More on that in a bit. For now, the news: A Pennsylvania jury awarded $28 million in punitive damages in Pennsylvania state court Monday to a plaintiff who claimed her use of Pfizer’s hormone-therapy drugs caused breast cancer. Click here for the WSJ story; here for the NYT story.

The jury had awarded $6.3 million in compensatory damages on Friday to the plaintiff, Donna Kendall, of Decatur, Ill. The jury found that Pfizer units had engaged in a pattern of willful and reckless conduct. Wyeth was the primary seller of hormone-therapy drugs, and Pfizer recently acquired the company. A separate Pfizer unit, Upjohn, was a defendant in the case.

“We hope that the jury’s verdict will send a message to these giant pharmaceutical companies that the safety and well being of the public must come before profits,” said Tobias Millrood, Ms. Kendall’s attorney, in a press release.

Pfizer spokesman Christopher Loder said the company would challenge the verdict in post-trial motions, or file an appeal if necessary. “The company believes that neither the award of punitive damages nor the liability verdict were supported by the evidence or the law,” he said.

So how, LBers, what’s your reaction? That punitive damages should be chucked out the window? That punitive damages should exist, but should be awarded not to the plaintiff but to a centralized fund to be used for the common good? That pharmaceutical companies too often rush unhealthy drugs to market? That government regulation of drug safety needs to be tightened up? That the jury system doesn’t work? Talk to us.

Similar Posts:

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• Prempro Lawsuit Jury Finds Wyeth Hid Breast Cancer Risk
• Prempro Lawsuit Verdict Finds Wyeth Hid Breast Cancer Risk
• Prempro Breast Cancer Punitive Damage Award of $27M Tossed on Appeal
• Another Prempro Trial Results in Multi-Million Dollar Verdict for Breast Cancer

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