Pharmaceutical companies paid a record amount in malpractice fines in the United States in the first half of 2012. A report by Public Citizen, a consumer group based in Washington DC, found that by 18 July, US$5 billion in federal settlements and $1.6 billion in state settlements had been made for activities such as illegal marketing and overcharging of government medical programmes. Settlements with individual states have steadily increased since 2009.
"No comment; the data speaks for itself!"