Woman can sue pharma firm over steroid

The High Court has cleared the way for a woman who claims that she was left with permanent health problems after using a steroid produced by Pfizer to sue the pharmaceutical giant for damages.

Lorna Savage is also suing doctors who prescribed her the steroid, which she took to treat a rash over a two- year period in the late 1990s, sold under the trade name Deltacortril. She claims she was never warned about the possible side-effects of using the steroid.

Ms Savage, aged 43, from Cobh, Co Cork, claims she developed a serious medical condition, known as avascular necrosis, from using Deltacortril, to treat the rash, which was caused by an inflammation of her blood vessels.