Drug manufacturers are responsible for putting safe and effective medications on the market for consumers to use. Most of the time, drugs are tested extensively, and the vast majority of them do what they should without causing problems in patients. When things go wrong with your medication, you might be ready to sue the maker of the drug, but that may not always work. To find out more about what can be done when your prescription drugs cause more harm than good, read on.
Failure to Warn
When possible, the makers of drugs are required to warn consumers about potential side-effects, drug interactions, and other negative possibilities. Drug manufacturers are well aware of the federal rules about labeling medications to include literature or label warnings that cover all side-effects, even remote and rare side-effects. When drug manufacturers warn consumers about interactions and side-effects, they are complying with a facet of law known as informed consent. Once you have received the drug, it becomes your responsibility to read through the warnings before you use the drug. If the drugs caused you harm and that possibility was addressed in the warnings, you likely have no legal cause of action against the drug-maker.
Unexpected Side-effects
Unfortunately, when it comes to the track record of prescription drugs, time and time again, drugs are released for public consumption that later prove to be dangerous and deadly. Whether it be a widely-prescribed drug for morning sickness in the 1950s (see thalidomide) that caused devastating birth defects, or more recently, an NSAID called Vioxx that caused heart problems, testing is not always a guarantee of safety. This means that those who suffer from the ill effects of a medication not addressed in the drug-maker's literature may have a cause of action.
Defective Drugs
Along with the failure to warn issues, you may also be negatively affected by a defective drug. Commonly, this includes drugs that somehow became contaminated during the manufacturing or delivery process. You must be able to identify the liable party, however. You cannot sue the pharmacy that dispensed the drug unless you can show that the defect was the direct result of the pharmacy's practices.
Going up against large drug-makers can be an intimidating process, but your cause of action might help others who have been similarly harmed by the same drug. Speak to a personal injury attorney about your case as soon as possible as there are deadlines for taking action against the drug-maker.
Share22 July 2019
Too many single people assume they don't need to plan their estate. My brother fell into this category, and his unexpected passing left our entire family struggling to deal with his home, belongings, and financial accounts. It took nearly three years for the courts to set up a deal because he left no paperwork detailing how he wanted his estate divided. The situation immediately convinced me to work on my own estate, even though I'm still in my early 30's and don't have children or a spouse to worry about. Since it's a little harder to pick beneficiaries and estate managers when you're single, I collected the resources I used for making my own decisions and decided to publish them here on my blog. Use these resources before talking to an estate planning attorney so you're prepared for making hard decisions.