Confronting the aftermath of injuries from dangerous drugs can be distressing and wrought with uncertainty. Having an empathetic yet professional advocate on your side becomes invaluable during such trying times.
Our team at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers recognizes the physical, emotional, and financial pain that accompanies these experiences, and approaches every client’s situation with the utmost compassion. We take pride in navigating complex legal issues related to dangerous drug claims to seek compensation for our client’s suffering.
Keep reading to learn more about dangerous and defective drug lawsuits, who could be liable, how much compensation you may be able to obtain, and why having an attorney is necessary.
What Is Considered a Dangerous Drug?
Under the law, a dangerous drug is any medication that carries defects—whether due to improper labeling, faulty manufacturing, or design flaws—and poses the potential to cause harm to users.
In legal cases involving dangerous drugs, establishing that there was a defect and demonstrating how it resulted in an injury are critical factors in pursuing compensation.
Examples of Dangerous Drugs
Dangerous and defective drug cases are part of an evolving and dynamic area of law that sees constant growth given the continuous introduction of new drugs. Some current and ongoing examples of dangerous or defective drug claims include:
- Ozempic lawsuits due to some patients experiencing severe stomach or gallbladder issues, which they were unaware were a risk because of undisclosed side effects.
- Suboxone lawsuits against the manufacturer for not adequately warning users about significant dental decay risks associated with its use among opioid-dependent individuals.
- An emerging set of claims suggests a link between Tylenol consumption during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorders in exposed children.
- Lawsuits linked to Elmiron involve allegations that it can cause various eye conditions, including vision loss—serious consequences users contend pharmaceutical companies did not sufficiently warn them about.
- Depo Provera lawsuits have been filed by women who have developed brain tumors after using this common contraceptive. The litigation alleges that the drug manufacturer, Pfizer, failed to provide any warnings about the drug’s dangers.
Why You Need a Drug Injury Attorney
Having a dedicated drug injury attorney on your side is critical to ensure that you receive the full compensation you deserve for suffering due to defective or unsafe medications. From securing maximum medical coverage for chronic therapy needs to obtaining adequate compensation for lifelong disability or loss caused by prescription drug companies, having Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers handle your dangerous drug proceedings can make all the difference.
Here’s how a dangerous drug lawyer from our team can help:
- Evaluating Your Claim: A lawyer can determine the legal potential of your claim and quantify what kind and how much recovery you might be entitled to.
- Investigating and Gathering Evidence: Legal advocacy includes investigating all aspects of your case, collecting evidence on how exactly a medication harmed you by gathering medical records, expert opinions from medical professionals, and other relevant data.
- Negotiating with Insurance Companies and Defendants: Having a knowledgeable attorney manage these negotiations is integral to standing your ground against corporate legal teams and insurance adjusters fighting for pharmaceutical companies who will attempt to minimize the compensation you receive.
The Effects of Dangerous Drugs
Dangerous drugs can be incredibly unsafe. Such drugs can cause a wide array of side effects depending on several factors—the specific drug, patient health history, dosage taken, and length of treatment, among others. Common adverse reactions might include:
- Allergic reactions to the OTC (over-the-counter) or prescription drug
- Cardiovascular issues such as increased heart rate or blood pressure
- Gastrointestinal problems, including nausea, vomiting, or stomach cramps
- Neurological impacts like headaches, dizziness, or seizures
- Liver or kidney damage
- Psychological effects such as mood swings, depression, or suicidal thoughts
- Significant dental decay
Liability for Damages in Dangerous Drug Lawsuits
Dangerous drug suits often involve a range of potential defendants depending on where exactly in the chain—from development to distribution—the issue might have occurred. Here are some parties that can be held liable:
Drug Manufacturers
If a drug is produced with defects or without adequate safety warnings, a drug manufacturer could be held responsible as they have an obligation to create products free of harm or to at least provide appropriate warnings to potential consumers.
Drug Providers
This includes doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies; if they prescribed or dispensed a prescription medication knowing it had dangerous health risks (or without doing reasonable due diligence to determine its safety) and failed to inform patients properly, they could be held liable.
Testing Laboratory
When independent laboratories tasked with testing the safety and efficacy of drugs falsify results or fail to conduct thorough analyses, they can be liable for damages. These lapses endanger patients who rely on their findings, whether it’s a prescription drug or OTC medication.
Pharmaceutical Sales Rep
If pharmaceutical company representatives provide misleading information about a drug’s safety or effectiveness, they can also face liability, particularly if an oversight or omission influences doctors’ prescribing decisions, detrimentally impacting patient care.
How to File a Dangerous Drug Claim
Filing a dangerous drug claim typically takes the form of joining a mass tort, such as an MDL (Multidistrict Litigation) or a class action lawsuit. Both processes are designed to handle cases where numerous individuals have been harmed in similar ways by the same product.
An MDL allows individual cases to be processed more efficiently while preserving certain case-specific details. Claims involving common issues are consolidated during the discovery phase for pretrial proceedings, which streamlines the process.
Class action lawsuits group claims with similar grievances into one single lawsuit where the outcomes affect all class members.
This collective legal approach is efficient when numerous people suffer comparable damages from a dangerous drug. It cuts down on legal expenses and time by having one court’s verdict or negotiated settlement apply universally among plaintiffs.
If you believe you’ve been harmed by a dangerous drug, contact Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers to speak with a class action lawyer experienced in handling dangerous and defective drug cases.
The Statute of Limitations for Dangerous Drug Lawsuits
The statute of limitations sets the maximum amount of time individuals have to initiate legal proceedings from the date of an alleged civil offense. For a dangerous drug lawsuit, statutes can greatly vary by state and claim type.
Personal Injury Claims for Dangerous Drugs
Most states maintain a deadline ranging anywhere between 1 and 6 years. The majority fall around the 2-year limitation period for filing claims centered on dangerous drug injuries caused by defective or harmful medication.
For example, Illinois provides a 2-year deadline. It’s important to contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to determine the deadline for your specific personal injury case.
Wrongful Death Resulting From Dangerous Drug Use
The time frame for wrongful death claims related to unsafe drugs often aligns with personal injury statutes, though sometimes a state can have two different timelines for each type of legal case.
The range typically falls between 1 and 3 years after the date of a loved one’s passing. Reaching out to a wrongful death lawyer is the best way to make sure you don’t miss the deadline.
Product Liability Claims Involving Dangerous Drugs
The statutes of limitation for product liability cases involving dangerous pharmaceuticals generally mirror those of personal injury cases, most commonly giving claimants around two years to file suit from the date they suffered harm or discovered it was caused by a drug.
Navigating the complexities of dangerous drug laws, particularly regarding statutes of limitations, requires understanding and prompt action with the help of a product liability lawyer.
What to Do After Sustaining Dangerous Drug Injuries
Understanding the key steps you need to take to file a dangerous drug lawsuit can be beneficial. However, given the intricate nature of a dangerous drugs lawsuit, enlisting an experienced lawyer’s assistance is often crucial to your case’s success.
Here are some fundamental actions necessary for building your claim:
Document Your Injuries and Damages
Accurately documenting any health concerns or side effects experienced after taking the medication, as well as keeping track of medical bills and impacts on your quality of life will be critical to strengthening your case.
Save the Drug Packaging and Documentation
Retain all packaging, proof of prescriptions, and any other related documentation for the drug in question, as these can serve as important pieces of evidence later on.
Identify the Defendant(s)
You’ll need to determine who is potentially at fault—this could range from the pharmaceutical manufacturer and testing lab to a prescribing physician or pharmacy.
Consult a Lawyer Specialized in Dangerous Drug Lawsuits
Due to the complexity of cases related to negligent drug companies and medications, seeking legal expertise is highly recommended. Reach out to a lawyer who specializes in these types of lawsuits for guidance on how best to proceed.
Damages Awarded in Dangerous Drug Lawsuits
In a dangerous drugs lawsuit, compensation can cover a wide scope of damages related to dangerous side effects. These typically fall under the following categories:
Economic Damages
These encompass the direct financial costs resulting from the bad drug, like medical expenses (both past and future), lost wages if you were too sick to work, or ongoing treatments or care required due to serious injuries sustained.
Non-economic Damages
These address impacts that are more subjective in nature and not tied specifically to a monetary cost. Examples involve pain and suffering endured after taking a dangerous drug, emotional distress it may have caused, as well as long-term disability and the negative effect it has had on your life.
Punitive Damages
Some cases may also qualify for punitive damages. These are awarded not as compensation for losses but as a means to punish the defendant in instances of malicious intent or exceptionally negligent behavior that led to the creation or distribution of a dangerous drug.
Dangerous Drug Wrongful Death Claims
Dangerous drug wrongful death claims can be a vital resource for families who have lost loved ones due to adverse reactions or side effects from medications.
Those who successfully file can anticipate recovering various forms of compensation, such as medical costs, funeral expenses, burial costs, as well as loss of the deceased’s expected earnings. They may also be granted financial compensation for non-economic damages, including grief and sorrow or loss of companionship.
How Much Compensation to Expect
Determining the compensation in a dangerous drug lawsuit is far from straightforward and can vary quite a bit. Awards range dramatically based on the severity of harm (sometimes even death), the degree of negligence involved, and specific details surrounding each case.
When you work with Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, you can expect a team to fight for everything you deserve. Here’s an example of the potential scope of compensation you could be entitled to:
- We recovered $38.5 million for families after three patients died following dialysis treatments in a case against DaVita Inc., where the company was found to have concealed information about the risks associated with their product.
Once compensation has been awarded or agreed upon—which can take some time, depending on the specifics of the case—receiving your payout isn’t necessarily instantaneous.
Receiving just compensation can take additional weeks or even months since payouts typically undergo various administrative steps. These may include waiting for the conclusion of any appeals or dealing with liens.
Are Dangerous Drug Lawyers Expensive?
When considering legal representation for a dangerous drug lawsuit, you might be concerned about the costs involved. At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, we work on a contingency fee basis—this means our fees are conditional upon winning your case.
When you retain our services, there are no upfront payments required; instead, we receive a percentage of the settlement or judgment as compensation only after successfully resolving your case. This arrangement allows victims to pursue compensation and justice without being burdened by financial concerns during an already challenging time.
Contact Our Dangerous Drug Attorneys Today!
If you or a loved one has suffered due to a dangerous drug, remember that you do not have to face this challenge alone. Our attorneys possess the expertise and determination required to achieve justice for you and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.
Contact Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, and let us advocate for your rights with the compassion and professionalism you deserve. Schedule your free consultation today by calling (888) 424-5757 or reaching out to us online.
Specific Cases We Handle
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