Citing New Jersey’s interest in ensuring that companies in the state make safe products, the state’s Appellate Division has reinstated a suit by an out-of-state man who claimed Hoffmann-La Roche’s acne drug Accutane caused him to become so depressed that he attempted suicide.
The judges reversed a lower court’s ruling that because the plaintiff is from Michigan, that state’s product liability statute should control. Michigan offers almost absolute immunity for companies if the drug has U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.
