Product liability

The pharmaceutical and healthcare industries have found themselves involved in an ever-increasing number of disputes in recent years, often involving very large sums of money and complex group litigation in the US and elsewhere.  This has, in turn, led to an increase in litigation between companies operating in the industry and their liability insurers, often involving a wide variety of complex coverage issues.

As the leading insurance and reinsurance set in the UK, 7KBW has extensive experience of acting in and advising on insurance and reinsurance disputes involving the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.  Members of Chambers are regularly involved in liability insurance and reinsurance disputes arising from medical malpractice and product liability claims.  Examples include cases concerning breast cancer, HRT, contraception, anti–psychotic drugs, chemical contamination, asbestos-related diseases and aeroplane engine blades.

Sample cases

Astrazeneca insurance v XL Bermuda and Ace Bermuda – (2013) EWHC 349 (Comm) –  the first time an English Court has dealt with an issue concerning the construction of a “Bermuda Form” policy.

In Kingspan v Borealis David Allen QC, James Brocklebank, Sushma Ananda, and Elizabeth Lindesay acted for the Defendants, Borealis A/S and Borealis UK Limited in a £100 million product liability and misrepresentation claim brought by various companies in the Kingspan Group.

In Balmoral Group Limited v Borealis (UK) Ltd David Allen led Charles Holroyd and Benjamin Parker for the Defendants, successfully defending a claim exceeding £50 million plus costs.

In re Medicaments – members acted for the respondent pharmaceutical associations in the last case in the Restrictive Practices Court.  The Director-General of Fair Trading challenged the practice of resale price maintenance (RPM) on branded “over-the-counter” medicines.