Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories


26 Cal.3d 588 (1980).

Between 1941-1971, approximately 200 companies manufactured and distributed the drug Diethylsilbestrol (“DES”).  DES causes cancer in the daughters of women who took it while pregnant with those daughters.

By the time Plaintiff’s cancer developed, it was no longer possible to prove which particular manufacturer (few of whom were no longer in business) produced and distributed the specific dose taken by Plaintiff’s mother.

Notwithstanding, the court permitted Plaintiff to recover against each defendant according to that defendant’s percentage of the market, or “market share,” under the theory that all of them contributed to and benefited from the risk created by the drug.

The California Supreme Court further reasoned that it was fair to dispense with individualized proof of causation among the various potential tortfeasors because their products were identical. Because the DES manufactured by many potential tortfeasors was all produced from the same formula, it was more accurate to speak of a single product, with many manufacturers.

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