WHEN a drug safety scandal breaks, government regulators or pharmaceutical companies get the blame, for obvious reasons. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration has been pilloried for repeatedly failing to identify risks with drugs that it oversees. It was an independent academic who last year alerted the public to cardiovascular risks associated with the diabetes drug Avandia, for instance. By downplaying data on side effects, drug companies have also generated justified public anger.
There is a third party who, while not responsible for lapses, could do more to help: lawyers in drug liability cases who have access to…
