Whiskey Firm Wins Birth Defects Case : Jim Beam Not Required to Warn of Pregnancy Risks, Jury Finds

A federal jury on Wednesday cleared Jim Beam Brands Co. of negligence for not stating on its whiskey labels that alcohol consumption by pregnant women could cause birth defects in their children.

Harold and Candance Thorp of Seattle were seeking about $4 million in damages for lifetime assistance for their son, Michael, 4, whose retardation, physical deformities and other problems were blamed on fetal alcohol syndrome.

Mrs. Thorp, 39, testified that she was an alcoholic who drank as much as half a fifth of Jim Beam a day, but she and her husband insisted that she would have stopped drinking had the bottle labels carried a warning for pregnant women.

Beam “had an obligation to get this message out,” the Thorps’ attorney, Barry Epstein, has said.

During the trial, witnesses for Beam said that Candance Thorp had been warned repeatedly by relatives and friends about the dangers of drinking alcohol when pregnant and that she and other alcoholics would not have heeded a label warning.

Beam contended also that the boy’s problems were caused by heredity and neglect, not by alcohol abuse by his mother.

Shannon Stafford, chief attorney for the Jim Beam company, said after the verdict that he was “obviously pleased,” but he refused to elaborate.

Epstein said that the verdict was not a total loss and that the decision would not hinder similar suits in the future.

“We feel that this litigation has created an awareness in the public that, if it saves one child, it will all be worth it.

“We hope, as a result of this case . . . that (news of) the dangers of alcohol will be spread far and wide,” Epstein said. He said he did not know whether the verdict would be appealed.

Jurors interviewed after the verdict said that the six-member panel’s decision was unanimous and required no argument during 3 1/2 days of deliberations.

“I was surprised they were suing Jim Beam,” said Staci Gilbreth, 22, of Bothell, an accountant who had her first baby in December.

“They could have sued everyone,” said Geraldine Jackson, 32, of Renton, who works in real estate. She referred to testimony that Thorp had been seen drinking beer in bars a number of times during her pregnancy.

Attorneys have said the case was the first against a liquor company for birth defects linked to alcohol. Two similar cases are pending in Washington state courts.

About 1% of the infants born in the United States each year, or 35,000 babies, are born with fetal alcohol syndrome. Symptoms include slow growth, central nervous system impairment, hyperactivity, mental retardation and distorted facial characteristics.

U.S. District Judge Carolyn Dimmick, who presided over the trial, instructed jurors that the law requires a product to bear a warning and instructions of the latent and unknown risks associated with its use if those risks can result in harm to potential users.

However, she told jurors, a company is exempt from such warnings if it can prove that the risks involved are general knowledge in the community.

In November, federal law will require all alcoholic beverage containers to carry warnings about birth defects and other health hazards related to drinking.