Every year, thousands of people in the United States suffer injuries, illness, or death from dangerous prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Drug manufacturers are eager to get their products to market and may cut corners, failing to properly test substances before releasing them to the public. Their negligence puts people like you at risk of harm.
The nationally recognized dangerous drug lawyers at Shrader & Associates L.L.P. stand ready to protect your rights and ensure you receive justice from those who wronged you or a loved one. We offer free consultations to victims of corporate greed and carelessness, and we have successfully litigated many dangerous drug cases in our nearly two decades of service. Contact us to learn more about your legal options now.
Understanding Dangerous Drug Lawsuits
Your exposure to dangerous drugs may be higher than you think. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that nearly half of Americans report having taken a prescription drug in the past month. One-fifth of Americans report taking three or more prescriptions regularly. On top of that, many of us take over-the-counter medications for minor ills and pains.
New formulations and advances in medicine mean that new drugs are released frequently, and some of these drugs may cause harm. When a drug maker rushes a product to market, they may overlook important safety procedures. Mistakes in designing and formulating the drug, manufacturing inconsistencies, and labeling errors can all contribute to consumers taking or being prescribed the drug incorrectly.
Class Action Lawsuits, Mass Torts, and Multi-district Litigation
In instances where thousands of patients have suffered illness or injury, the United States legal system has mechanisms to handle a high volume of cases against a negligent product manufacturer. The handling of the case determines whether they are class action, mass torts, or fall under multi-district litigation procedures.
- Class action lawsuits: When the legal issues and injuries of one or more cases are the same, the managing attorneys may elect to compile them into a single class action. This allows anyone who was harmed by a drug to receive part of a single settlement paid by the defendant, even if the person did not file a case. Class members do not have a say in how the case is litigated, nor can they request additional losses. Watchdog sites like consumer-action.org list current class action cases.
- Mass tort: Mass tort is similar to a class action lawsuit, but each plaintiff’s case is tried individually and compensation is awarded according to each individual’s injuries. Mass tort simply means many similar cases filed against the same defendant.
- Multi-district litigation (MDL): This is a federal procedure that is frequently applied to mass tort claims. When plaintiffs are filing from across the country, the federal government will often streamline the process by conducting bellwether trials to judge the outcome. Defendants can then choose to settle the cases or allow them to proceed to individual trials.
MDL is commonly used for defective drug liability cases so plaintiffs can receive their verdicts faster and the courts are not as overloaded with similar claims. The details of lawsuits against negligent pharmaceutical companies can be very complicated. A smart first step is to schedule a free case evaluation with an experienced dangerous drug lawyer to determine how your case should be handled.
The Food and Drug Administration’s Role in Defective Drug Cases
Holding a drug manufacturer accountable when they produce a harmful product can be challenging. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) works to provide oversight to the creation, production, distribution, and sale of substances, their power has been diminished by pharmaceutical companies’ successful lobbying efforts. With weakened FDA regulations, pharmaceutical companies are able to get medicines to market faster, but may compromise safety.
An example of a streamlined process is the 510(k) approval process, which allows drug companies to present proof that a new drug is similar to an existing one and receive faster approval to sell the drug, even if there were issues with the previous version. In trying to balance the economic demands of the billion-dollar drug industry, this fast-track loophole may put more people at risk of harm.
The FDA also has the authority to issue a recall on drugs that have been made available to the public. Manufacturers can voluntarily recall a product, or they may be ordered to do so by the FDA. The pharmaceutical company works with the FDA to improve the issues that caused the problem.
There are three classes of FDA recall:
- Class I: When a drug is named as a cause of a patient’s serious illness, injury, or death
- Class II: For drugs that cause short-term health problems or severe illness
- Class III: Minor design, production, or labeling issues that do not usually cause harm
Defective Drugs, Drug Recalls, and Drug Injury
The term “defective” has different meanings in common usage versus its legal definition. In drug recalls and dangerous drug cases, defective means that a product is unsafe for its intended use or ordinary application. Defective can also mean it was improperly advertised.
Cases involving over-the-counter medications or pharmaceutical drugs fall under product liability. These claims generally fall into three common categories:
- Design defects: When a drug causes harm because it was created defectively or its component compounds are not safe for use, the manufacturer can be sued for a design defect.
- Manufacturing defects: Issues with contamination during the production process could lead to a manufacturing defect or cause negative interactions with other medications that lead to illness or injury.
- Failure to warn: The packaging design must be created so the drug can be distributed without contamination or damage. Drug labeling and use information must clearly state how it should be prescribed or taken to avoid allergic reactions or injury. Finally, how a drug is marketed must truthfully advertise its purpose.
Additional concerns about the failure to warn category can occur when medical practitioners fail to discuss a drug’s potential side effects with patients. In this situation, the prescription drug manufacturer may not be liable, but the dispensing physician could be.
Drug Recalls
In the recent past, there have been numerous examples of prescription medications that have led to illness or injury to patients. These include:
- Accutane®: This powerful acne medication has been related to depression, suicidal thoughts, and the risk of causing birth defects for pregnant people.
- Anti-depressant drugs: Medications such as Zoloft®, Serzone®, and Paxil® are associated with suicidal thoughts, birth defects, and seizure episodes.
- Antipsychotics: Zyprexa® is prescribed for those diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. It is associated with the development of kidney problems, diabetes, and strokes.
- Birth control medications: Both older medications and new drugs meant to prevent pregnancy carry a risk of side effects such as heart attacks, blood clots, and stroke. This category includes Depo-Provera®, Ocella, Ortho Evra® Mirena®, Yasmin®, and Yaz®.
- Celebrex®: Used to combat the symptoms of osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis, this anti-inflammatory drug is associated with liver and kidney failure, cardiac problems, gastrointestinal bleeding, and high blood pressure.
The FDA maintains an up-to-date list of recalled drugs. You can verify the status of a medication, including any important side effects or serious injuries that have been reported. Your dangerous drug attorney will also conduct research as part of their investigation, identifying the latest legal action related to the drug that harmed you, and helping you find class action suits or other law firms that are handling mass tort litigation.
Common Defective Drug Injuries
Medications that are defectively made, used off-label, or dispensed without properly reviewing a patient’s medical history can cause dangerous side effects. In the worst examples, they may lead to the wrongful death of a victim, which opens the door for their families to pursue justice on behalf of their departed loved one. There are multiple common side effects our clients experience in the cases we handle, including:
- Abnormal organ function
- Lumps or cysts under the skin
- Birth defects
- Blood clots
- Blurred vision
- Brain damage
- Breathing problems
- Cancer
- Death
- Excessive bleeding
- Heart attack
- Infection
- Internal bleeding
- Kidney disease
- Liver disease
- Memory loss
- Mental health issues
- Numbness
- Paralysis
- Seizures
- Stroke
- Seizures
- Rashes
- Permanent disability
It is important that patients follow product directions or their doctor’s orders when taking any drug. Both over-the-counter and prescription medications can cause illness, injury, or death. Large drug companies fight hard to protect their reputations against claims of negligence and accuse victims of contributing to their own harm by failing to follow instructions properly. You need an equally fierce legal team on your side to protect your right to compensation.
How Our Dangerous Drug Attorneys Can Help You
While there is a significant amount of legal precedent surrounding product liability cases and defective drug claims, every case has a chance to change the future of how the courts rule. Pharmaceutical manufacturers and insurance companies will defend their interests vigorously to protect their business standing and profits. Meanwhile, patients like you are left suffering from serious injuries and medical bills that demand payment.
At Shrader & Associates, our experienced legal team has deep experience managing individual claims and mass tort cases. We have the training and skill to confidently guide you through the legal process, relying on a strong attorney-client relationship. Starting with an initial case review at no cost to you, we conduct a full investigation into how you were harmed and who is at fault.
Our team helps you seek compensation for your damages, which may include:
- Doctor bills
- Emergency room and ICU costs
- Hospitalization expenses
- Surgery
- Lost wages and benefits
- Permanent disability
- Emotional distress
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Chronic pain or other condition
- Scarring and disfigurement
All dangerous drug lawsuits involve collecting recall notices, receipts, witness statements, and expert testimony. Your defective drug lawyer will make every effort to show liability and present your damage demands for the injury, illness, and other harm they caused to you. By following our seasoned legal advice, our clients improve their chances for favorable verdicts.
Strict Liability and Proof of Negligence in Dangerous Drug Claims
Proof of negligence in product liability claims is different than other personal injury cases. In product defect cases, the claimant must focus on the doctrine of strict liability. To win a strict liability case, your legal team does not have to demonstrate actual negligence on the part of the defendant. Strict liability lessons the burden of proof on your side, allowing you to seek compensation by demonstrating that the drug was defective in some way.
Contact the Dangerous Drug Lawyers at Shrader & Associates for a Free Case Evaluation Today
The dangerous drug attorneys of Shrader & Associates are ready to discuss your injury claim during a free consultation. We know you may be worried about how you will afford a lawyer when you are already facing high medical costs. We are pleased to offer our services on a contingency fee basis, meaning if we do not obtain a settlement for you, you do not owe us attorney’s fees.
Let us put our knowledge and dedication to work for you when you or a loved one has suffered illness or harm caused by a defective medication. We are available to arrange your free case review through our online form or by calling our offices. Contact us for help today.