Defective Prescription Drugs Result in Numerous Lawsuits
Who hasn’t had the experience of being prescribed medication from a doctor? Even the dentist can prescribe antibiotics and painkillers. When you’re told to take medications, you do it because you want to get better. And, you trust the judgement of the medical professional while assuming the medications they’re prescribing are good for you. Unfortunately, this safety net isn’t always guaranteed. Prescription drugs can sometimes come with severe and dangerous side effects. In some cases, the unintended consequences of taking prescription drugs can cause devastating injury or death.
Lawsuits in the Pharmaceutical Industry
In many cases, prescription medications are too quickly prescribed because a decision is made that these risks are outweighed by the potential rewards. In this situation, a patient should always be made aware of the risks and complications. It’s when the patient isn’t aware of risks and complications that negligence plays a role, and there’s potential for a lawsuit because the unfair consequences are devastating to the patient and the patient’s family, especially when the consequence is death.
If you’re considering suing because a drug was defective, the most important thing is that you seek out a personal injury law group that has experience litigating cases against defective drugs and negligent healthcare providers and pharmaceutical drug companies.
Many pharmaceutical companies have faced lawsuits. The powerhouse pharmaceutical company Pfizer is facing a lawsuit over the use of its high cholesterol medication, Lipitor. The drug is believed to have caused some women to develop diabetes. The women were given the medication without ever having been informed of the risk, and as a result, they now face serious health issues.
In another example, pharmaceutical companies producing blood thinning medications, such as Xarelto, are facing a similar lawsuit. The medication is alleged to have caused dangerous internal bleeding. Again, officials in the pharmaceutical industry failed to properly warn patients of the risks associated with using their medications. And, they failed to make sure their medications were free of dangerous effects.
The Effects of Prescription Drugs
While prescriptions are created and prescribed with the best of intensions, the drugs produced can sometimes be dangerous. If you’re aware of these dangers and choose to take the drug anyway, a lawsuit may be difficult to litigate; however, if you’re unaware of the dangers or were under-informed of the dangers, you’re absolutely in the right if you choose to sue the pharmaceutical company.
Many prescription drugs are extremely addictive and can be just as harmful to the body as illegal drugs (if not more so). In fact, statistically more people in the United States are addicted to legal prescription drugs than they are to illegal street drugs.
The same can be said for drug-related deaths. More people die each year from the side effects of prescription medications and prescription medication overdoses than from illegal drug overdoses. These facts do not take into account the number of people who abuse prescription drugs or take them illegally, but they’re staggering nonetheless.
The Risks of Taking Prescription Medications
In addition to the danger of becoming addicted to prescription drugs, one must also consider their side effects whether noted or not noted. Even when these medications are working properly, they can have unintended consequences. Some common prescription drug side effects include: drowsiness, pain and skin reactions, dizziness, nausea, dehydration, internal bleeding, cancer, physical debilitation, etc. Severe problems with the heart, liver, and kidneys could also be potential side effects. If you’re not educated about these side effects and suffer because of them, that’s when a lawsuit can and should occur.
Guest Author: Ravi Kumarr Gupta
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