Hy's law is a rule of thumb that a patient is at high risk of a fatal drug-induced liver injury if given a medication that causes hepatocellular injury (not Hepatobiliary injury) with jaundice.
[1] The law is based on observations by Hy Zimmerman, a major scholar of drug-induced liver injury.
[2][3][4] Some have suggested the principle be called a hypothesis or observation.
[5] Hy's Law cases have three components:[2] In Zimmerman's analysis of 116 patients with hepatocellular injury and jaundice due to drug exposure, 76% went on to either require a liver transplant or died.
[6] Other studies have reported a lower but still significant mortality of 10%.