Richard H. Hughes, IV, Member of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, was quoted in Axios, in “How Trump and RFK Jr. Are Enabling Anti-Pharma Lawsuits” by Caitlin Owens. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
A lawsuit Texas filed Tuesday against the makers of Tylenol foreshadows a wave of legal warfare enabled by the Trump administration — and authorities fear it could eventually drive vaccine manufacturers out of the U.S.
Why it matters: It's not new for lawsuits to allege without solid proof that certain drugs do harm, but it is new when they cite the president and the country's top federal health official to make their case.
- But while President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. certainly have sway over public opinion, it may not extend to court proceedings that require evidence.
What they're saying: "I think any of [the] rhetoric that's not grounded in science is concerning," said Richard Hughes, a professor of vaccine law at George Washington University and a partner at Epstein, Becker & Green.
- "It lends itself to this environment where anyone who's litigious could be incentivized to go out and bring a suit."
At the same time, Hughes added, "there's not going to be a point where evidence is going to be admitted that is the expert opinion of the president or the secretary. A judge just would not admit that."
