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Regardless of the information given on the phone I think the OP should have taken better care to ensure the safe transport of their expensive and perishable item and also be more personally accountable for what happened.
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This makes no sense. The passenger knew he had a perishable and expensive item and so set out to check if it could be carried and was advised TWICE that it would be ok. That is taking responsibility. In the past, PHX you have criticised passengers for not checking, or because the rules are clearly shown on the website. This is a clearly unusual request and not covered by normal standard terms of carriage, so the OP sought specific advice from the the airline and asked for clarification on whether the item could be refridgerated. The airline reassured the passenger it could. A deal was done.. and the airline then walked away from it.
In your terms, no customer could ever rely on anything any company representative said to them. We have to be able to rely on instructions given just to be able to trade effectively, either that or only conduct our business in writing. If that was the case, much of our normal trade and business dealings would grind to a halt. It is ridiculous.
On the issue of what was in the container, this argument does not stack up. The TSA screens the contents of all bags, but the airline cannot know if a passenger has put drugs in them. If the airline carries a bag in the hold with drugs in, are they responsible? No. If the passenger carries drugs in the hand baggage which is stored in the overhead compartment is the airline responsible? No. If the passenger puts drugs in his suit bag and the flight attendant takes it from the passenger and places in the suit closet is the airline responsible? No. So what makes this different to the scenario you outline? Is it because it is refridgerated?
Which country has a law which says that when an airline accepts responsibility for a passengers belongings that it becomes legally responsible when it is refridgerated? Why would drugs stored in a fridge create any legal liability for the FA, when drugs stored in a suit locker not. Both are in the "custody" of the FA's, but I don't believe any country would perceive this to be the legal responsibility of the airline.
Sometimes PHX, airlines screw up. Frankly, the mistake here was not really by the FA. The mistake was by the customer service representative. The passenger should have been advised that the airline would not be able to guarantee to carry the medication and that alternative arrangements should be made (such as dry ice, advance shipping or whatever). As they failed to do this and indeed reassured the customer, then they should take legal responsibility for the actions of their employee. It is a well established legal principle in law, that a company can be responsible for the actions of their employees and in this case, I would encourage the OP to take them to court and get them to face their responsibilities.