… A 32-year-old woman learned that her mother had taken a drug called DES (Diethylstilbestrol) while pregnant. DES was marketed from the late 1940’s into the 1960’s in the mistaken belief it prevented miscarriages and premature deliveries. The woman had a misshapened uterus as a result of her mother’s ingestion of the DES. This condition presented the risk of infertility, miscarriage and other birthing problems. Fortunately, the pharmacy records from the mother’s purchase of the DES many years before were still available. These records, by the process of elimination, definitively identified the manufacturer of the DES pills. A lawsuit for the woman was initially dismissed because she had waited too long before seeking an attorney. The lawsuit was later settled while on appeal.
