The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review an appeals court's decision that generic drug manufacturers can face lawsuits over alleged problems in the design of drugs, regardless of federal protections against design-defect claims.

In early 2005, New Hampshire resident Karen Bartlett suffered a rare reaction to the generic anti-inflammatory drug sulindac that left her nearly blind and covered in burn-like lesions. She sued the drug's maker, Mutual Pharmaceutical Co., for design defects under state law and subsequently won a $21 million jury award.

In its defense, Mutual argued that federal law preempts design defect claims, since it mandates that the labeling and design of generic and brand-name drugs be the same, an argument that echoed the Supreme Court's June 2011 decision in Pliva Inc. v. Mensing.