US tobacco firms win case against hospitals seeking compensation to treat sick smokers
May 1st, 2011 - 12:32 pm ICT by ANIWashington, May 1 (ANI): Six major US tobacco companies have defeated a lawsuit by hospitals seeking compensation for treating patients with smoking-related illnesses, claiming the firms misrepresented the health effects of smoking.
Thirty-seven hospitals in the state of Missouri claimed that Phillip Morris USA and other major cigarette companies manipulated the nicotine content in cigarettes and delivered an “unreasonably dangerous” product.
They sought more than a 455 million dollar reimbursement for treating uninsured smokers who had not paid for care.
But a jury in St Louis rejected their claim.
“The jury agreed with Philip Morris USA that ordinary cigarettes are not negligently designed or defective,” the BBC quoted Murray Garnick of Philip Morris, as saying.
An official from Lorillard, another company in the case, said that compelling evidence was presented to the jury, including testimony from hospital witnesses, which confirmed the hospitals were not as financially damaged as they had asserted. (ANI)
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