Prescription and over-the-counter medications sometimes produce severe side effects that have a devastating impact on a consumer’s health and life. When someone sustains harm from a defective product including a drug, the manufacturer is responsible for compensating the consumer.
Contact a Tucson dangerous drugs lawyer when you are diagnosed with a serious condition related to a drug you took. They could speak with you about your experience and recommend the most efficient way for you to obtain compensation for your injuries. Reach out to the Phillips Law Group to begin working with a trusted local personal injury attorney today.
Drug Approval Process Does Not Guarantee Safety
Before prescription drugs can go on the market, the manufacturer must file an application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA studies data the manufacturer provides and can approve a drug if it finds that its usefulness to treat a condition exceeds the risks as reported by the drug’s manufacturer.
In many cases, dangerous side effects become known after a drug has been in use for some time. Sometimes, the FDA asks the manufacturer to change the label to reflect the issue. In other cases, the FDA could ask the manufacturer to take the drug off the market voluntarily. If there are few other treatment options for a specific disease or condition, the FDA may allow its continued use for people with that condition.
Many drugs that doctors frequently prescribe can cause severe health problems in some people who take them. Examples include: Pfizer’s blood pressure drug Accuretic, which could cause cancer; the Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, which is linked to stroke and seizures; Elmiron, a bladder medication that can cause blindness; and Suboxone, a drug to treat opioid addiction that can cause severe damage to the teeth and gums. A Tucson attorney could review an individual’s medical record and medication history to determine whether their symptoms are consistent with the known or suspected risks of a specific drug.
Proving a Manufacturer Is Liable for a Drug Injury
In a typical personal injury case, an injured person must prove another party was negligent to receive compensation for their injuries. When a product causes an injury, someone seeking compensation has several legal alternatives. A Tucson attorney could evaluate a claim and determine which of the options has the most likelihood of success.
Regardless of the legal theory of responsibility an injured person pursues, they must act quickly. Arizona Revised Statutes § 12-542 allows someone who sustained injuries from a dangerous drug only two years to file a lawsuit against the drug’s manufacturer. The clock starts running on the last day they took the drug, or if symptoms were not apparent immediately, the date they learned or should have learned of the drug’s connection with their symptoms.
Product Liability
A manufacturer is strictly liable for any harm caused by a defective product it released into the market. If the injured person (plaintiff) can prove the product was defective, the manufacturer has an obligation to pay compensation.
The plaintiff must present proof that the product’s design rendered every sample of the drug unsafe, and that an alternative, economically feasible design would have been as effective and safer. Other ways of proving a product defective include showing that an error on the production line made some samples of the product unsafe, or that the label did not provide sufficient warnings about the product’s dangers.
Negligence
Sometimes there is evidence showing a manufacturer was negligent. A drug manufacturer might have been negligent if it falsified data to receive FDA approval, failed to follow up promptly on reports of significant side effects, did not inform prescribing physicians about known contraindications, and similar conduct. The plaintiff must prove the manufacturer was negligent and its negligence directly caused the plaintiff’s injury.
Mass Tort Actions
Trying to prove a drug manufacturer is responsible for a consumer’s injuries is a labor-intensive and expensive process that often requires hiring numerous outside experts. When many people are injured by the same drug, courts can get overwhelmed trying multiple cases.
A mass tort or multidistrict litigation (MDL) is a way to make the process more efficient, faster, and less expensive for all parties and the court system. A judge could consolidate multiple cases into one MDL. The court would hear the evidence in a few cases, and if the jury finds for the plaintiffs, the drug company typically settles with all plaintiffs who can prove their losses.
Talk to a Tucson Attorney About Your Dangerous Drugs Claim
Drug manufacturers are powerful and well-funded, and often have teams of lawyers defending their products from allegations they are unsafe. You need an experienced, savvy attorney to prove your case.
Contact a Tucson dangerous drugs lawyer as soon as you learn that your health condition might be related to a drug you took. Schedule a consultation today.
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