In a clear majority of states, the courts have accepted this as a liability shield for pharmaceutical companies.
The use of the term "learned intermediary" was first used in the Eighth Circuit decision of Sterling Drug v. Cornish (370 F.2d 82, 85), in 1966, and has now become the prevailing doctrine in the majority of jurisdictions in the United States.
Recently, this doctrine has been called into question due to the increased use of direct to consumer advertising, whereby drug manufacturers market pharmaceutical products to individuals rather than to doctors.
would persuade the Supreme Court of New Mexico that the justification for the learned-intermediary doctrine is quickly becoming, if not already the case, outdated."
However, other recent cases have declined to adopt this so-called "direct-to-consumer advertising" exception to the learned intermediary doctrine.