Almost everyone has had a prescription or over-the-counter medication not work quite as well as they were hoping it would to address an acute or chronic medical problem. Some people, however, have unfortunately sustained far more serious and even life-threatening harm from taking a drug they were told would be safe to use as directed — and if you have found yourself in this situation, you may have a lot of questions about what to do next and what options you may have for legal action.
Given how difficult it can be to hold a massive pharmaceutical company liable for any kind of misconduct, let alone the effects of physical injury or illness caused by one of their products, pursuing a lawsuit over an unreasonably harmful medication is not something you want to try handling without a skilled personal injury attorney by your side. Once retained, your Glendale dangerous drugs lawyer can answer all your questions, help you through every stage of the legal process, and will work tirelessly to get you paid what you deserve.
When Is a Drug “Dangerous” Enough for a Lawsuit?
Importantly, pharmaceutical companies are not automatically liable for every negative effect one of their medications has on a consumer, provided that they put each new product through sufficient testing and give proper warning to both doctors and consumers about all known risks, side effects, and contraindications.
However, if a medication has an undisclosed side effect that the manufacturer either did not do enough research to discover in advance or deliberately failed to warn people about before putting the drug on the market, anyone injured or rendered seriously ill as a result of that side effect may have grounds for civil litigation.
Along similar lines, drug companies may be liable for injuries caused by mistakes or contamination in the manufacturing process for a medication, and in some cases for injuries caused by a product’s widespread failure to work as advertised. A Glendale defective drugs attorney can discuss with you whether or not a particular scenario may give rise to a claim during a private initial consultation with a member of our team.
Building a Strong Claim With Help From Other Injured People
Unfortunately, even someone with extremely strong grounds to sue a pharmaceutical company over a dangerous drug will rarely get a favorable case result if they try to file suit alone. In fact, overcoming the millions and sometimes billions of dollars these corporations dedicate to contesting litigation against them can be a virtually impossible task for a single injured person, which is why it can be so important in situations like this to join forces with other people injured by the same product in a similar way.
Through “mass tort litigation,” multiple people injured by the same person or company’s misconduct can combine legal and financial resources and — depending on the circumstances — either pursue their own unique cases together or merge their claims into a “class action” in pursuit of a lump-sum settlement or damage award which they will all evenly split.
A dangerous drugs lawyer in Glendale can go into further detail with you about how these claims work during a free, confidential, no-obligation meeting and then potentially assist you with joining a case already in progress or with starting a new lawsuit.
Contact a Glendale Dangerous Drugs Attorney for Assistance
Defective and dangerous medications can sometimes end up causing more harm to people who take them than their original condition would have if it had been left untreated. When you experience life-threatening complications from a dangerous drug, you may have grounds to demand compensation from the pharmaceutical company that made and sold that drug to you without properly warning you of its risks.
Guidance from a Glendale dangerous drugs lawyer from the team at Phillips Law Group could be vital to achieving the best possible outcome from this uniquely challenging type of civil case. Contact us today to get started working with a legal advocate who is dedicated to fighting on your behalf both in and out of the courtroom.
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