The U.S. Supreme Court sided against a neurologically damaged woman from Owatonna last June, ruling that generic drug makers could not be held liable for inadequate labels that could have warned her about a drug's risks. Indeed, wrote a 5-4 high court majority, federal law says generic labels must be identical to their name-brand equivalent.

Gladys Mensing, then 76, had sued Pliva Inc. and other drug companies after developing tardive dyskinesia, a neurological disease that caused her to lose control of muscles in her tongue, face, arms and legs. On Wednesday, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., introduced legislation that would allow generic drug makers to update their warnings to accurately reflect the known risks associated with their drugs. Franken noted that Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority, acknowledged in the case that "from the perspective of Mensing (this decision) makes little sense." "I agree with him on this point," Franken said. "And I'd like to think that he'd agree with me on this: prescription drugs should be safe and their labels should be adequate."