Bills Seek to Change Rule on Generic Drug Label Democrats in the Senate and House introduced companion bills Wednesday that would permit generic drug companies to update warning information about the drugs they manufacture, a change that could allow patients to sue the companies for failing to warn about the risks of taking their drugs. A Supreme Court decision last year, Pliva v. Mensing, barred patients from suing generic drug companies because the court ruled that the companies did not have control over what their labels said and therefore could not be sued for failing to alert patients about the drugs" risks. An earlier Supreme Court decision, by contrast, gave permission to patients who took brand-name drugs to sue the drug manufacturers. Since the decision last year, dozens of judges have thrown out cases filed by patients who claim they were harmed by generic drugs even though in many cases they suffered the same injuries as those who took the brand-name versions. "The Mensing decision creates a troubling inconsistency in the law governing prescription drugs," Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, who sponsored the bill along with six other Democrats, said in a statement Wednesday. If a consumer takes the brand-name version of drug, she can sue the manufacturer for inadequate warnings. If the pharmacy happens to give her the generic version, she will not be able to seek compensation for her injuries," he said. Two Democrats in the House, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Bruce Braley of Iowa, introduced an identical bill Wednesday. Chances are slim that it will pass the House, which is controlled by Republicans. The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen has asked the Food and Drug Administration to take a similar action, but the agency said last month that it needed more time to decide on the issue. Generic drug companies have opposed such a move because they say it could create a chaotic situation in which several different drug companies could publish conflicting warning information about the same drugs. Under current law, only brand-name drug companies can update the labels - the lengthy list of a drug's uses, dosages and risks - and generic manufacturers are then required to follow suit. "Federal law requiring that generic medicines have the identical label as the corresponding brand products has provided American consumers the confidence to trust in generics for 80 percent of their prescription needs," Ralph G. Neas, president and chief executive of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, the industry trade group, said in a statement. This misguided legislation, introduced by Senator Leahy, would disrupt this confidence and unduly burden physicians who would have to be aware of multiple labels for the same product.