Baxter Faces Trial Over Heparin, but No Punitive Damages

The widow and children of a physician who died at 45 may proceed to trial against Baxter Healthcare Corp. and two other companies over allegedly contaminated heparin, a federal district court has ruled.

But they can’t show punitive damages under Arizona law, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona said Dec. 22.

This is the last case from consolidated federal litigation over heparin, according to the court.

The stakes here are particularly high because the drug’s recipient, Dr. Robert Allen, was in a high-earning profession and might have continued practicing for many years had he lived.

Baxter, its ...