About Federal Preemption

Federal preemption -- the concept that federal law trumps state and local law when Congress so intends or when conflicts or inconsistencies are present -- is vitally important to companies doing business in multiple states because it allows them to operate under one set of rules rather than having to accommodate varying and perhaps even conflicting rules in each state. Uniform national rules foster economic growth by preventing a balkanization of markets and ensuring national and international markets for goods and services. When applied to requirements imposed by state tort law, preemption often brings the added benefit of limiting unwarranted liability and ensuring that safety decisions are made by regulators with a national perspective.

The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform is working to promote the use of federal regulatory authority to preempt state common law claims for damages that are inconsistent with legal reform, including in cases involving failure-to-warn and product safety or design defect challenges.

Americans Trust Doctors and Scientists over Juries and Lawyers to Set Safety Standards for Medical Devices

When it comes to setting standards for the safety of medical devices, the American public trusts academic researchers, and Food and Drug Administration scientists and physicians much more than they do lay juries or trial lawyers, according to a poll conducted by the independent research firm Harris Interactive and released by ILR. ILR also released a letter to all members of Congress from a broad coalition of groups opposing the Medical Device Safety Act.

Read the press release
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Read the coalition letter (pdf)

The poll question:“Thinking about the safety and use of medical devices – there are a number of groups that can have an impact on the standards that determine whether and how medical devices are used by patients. For each group listed below, please tell us how much you trust that group to make decisions about the safety of medical devices. Do you trust that group completely, somewhat, a little or not at all?”

Harris Interactive® fielded the study from March 24-26, 2009 via its QuickQuerySM online omnibus service, interviewing a nationwide sample of 2,280 U.S. adults aged 18 years and older. Data were weighted to be representative of the total U.S. adult population on the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income, race/ethnicity, and propensity to be online.