PRESIDENT'S CHIEF OF STAFF STAYS PENDING REGULATIONS
Last week, President Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, issued a memorandum to all federal agencies to halt any pending regulations until the new administration can review them. The stay affects 23 pending rules that directly affect consumers.
The Chief of Staff' memorandum is a huge step for the protection of consumer's rights. Many of the pending regulations contain preemption language. Preemption is a legal doctrine that essentially states that when federal and state law are at odds, federal law takes precedence. Under the memorandum, the Obama Administration will have the option not to finalize any proposed rule or final rule which has not yet become effective and to ensure that any final version of a pending rule does not contain preemption language. Preemption is dangerous for consumers because it obliviates their right to redress in state court.
A preemption issue was recently argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Wyeth v. Levine case. The patient was injured and had to have her arm amputated when a drug - administered through an IV push, which was placed in an artery instead of a vein - caused gangrene due to the drug touching arterial blood.
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has commented that tort litigation in state court is an effective means of protecting consumers from dangerous products. Consumers put a lot of faith in the FDA approval process, but the NEJM article highlights the reasons that approval is not a guarantee of a drug's safety: lack of resources; FDA approval is usually based on short-term efficacy studies, not long-term safety studies and the FDA has no subpoena power, thus it only knows only what manufacturers reveal.
The Obama Administration is certainly taking a step in the right direction for consumers.
The experienced attorneys at the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll care about you and your families and will advocate to protect your rights.
