FDA Policy/General

Lawsuit Ads Can Hurt Public Health: Report

A U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform report says there is mounting evidence that misleading information and exaggerated claims made in lawsuit ads prevent people from seeking treatment or lead them to stop taking a prescribed medication without consulting a doctor. The report, Bad For Your Health: Lawsuit Advertising Implications and Solutions, looks at survey results and also says that many doctors have shared personal encounters with patients who stopped taking their medications without consultation as a result of a lawsuit ad. “These physicians express deep concern that the ads bombard their patients with exaggerated and untrustworthy medical information, damage the trust they have developed with patients, place their patients’ health at risk, and, in some cases have led to tragic consequences,” it says.

The goal of plaintiffs’ law firms, the report says, is to overwhelm a company with claims and pressure it to enter a global settlement of all cases, regardless of their merit.

The Chamber says there is an absence of oversight over lawsuit advertising. While FDA closely monitors prescription drug advertising, it does not monitor information disseminated in lawsuit ads that understates or does not recognize at all the benefits of a drug and overstates its risks. And, it says, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) policy and precedent prohibit many of the misleading practices employed in lawsuit ads in other contexts. But when lawyers engage in such practices, the FTC traditionally defers to state bars and attorney disciplinary authorities. But, it says, there is little likelihood of self-regulation by the bar.

The report makes these recommendations:

FTC, in coordination with FDA, should declare common misleading lawsuit advertising practices unfair or deceptive under the FTC Act;
Congress should empower FDA to monitor information about drugs and medical devices disseminated in lawsuit ads and send Warning Letters to ad sponsors urging them to pull or change ads with exaggerated or unsupported claims;
FDA might provide a mechanism for healthcare providers, patients, and the public to bring lawsuit ads of concern to the agency’s attention; and
· state legislatures and attorneys general find that the types of misleading lawsuit advertising practices discussed in this report violate their state unfair and deceptive trade practices act.

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