Pharmaceutical drugs are a miracle of the modern age. Many of them are life-changing innovations that can not only save lives but also improve the quality of life along the way. However, sometimes drugs can be defective either in the way they’re designed, made, or marketed. When this happens, the results can be devastating: terrible sickness, illness, or even death.

Defective drug lawsuits help in these cases. Not only does a lawsuit help people get compensation to pay costs related to their injuries, but it also makes the pharmaceutical drug process safer, encouraging companies to make sure their drugs are helpful, not harmful. At Fisher & Talwar, our pharmaceutical injury lawyers are prepared to help victims of defective drugs get compensation for their injuries and spread the word about defective drugs to prevent future injuries. Please contact us today for a free consultation and learn how we can help you. 

When You Might Have a Drug Injury Case

Almost every American takes some form of drug at least occasionally, including over-the-counter medications. Many of us have experienced side effects of these drugs. However, not everyone who experiences side effects can successfully pursue a drug injury lawsuit. Here are some characteristics of your experience that indicate you might have a drug injury case:

You Experience Serious Harm

 In order to pursue a drug injury case, you must have significant harms that can translate into damages that justify pursuing a lawsuit. Common side effects like nausea, headaches, and low energy don’t justify a lawsuit unless they can be linked to a significant financial or emotional impact. Some common drug complications that result in defective pharmaceutical lawsuits include:

  • Emergency room visits
  • Hospitalization
  • Cancer
  • Birth defects
  • Heart disease
  • Stomach lining damage
  • Heart injury
  • Brain damage
  • Kidney injury
  • Liver damage
  • Ineffective treatment

These effects can be acute – from a single dose that causes immediate problems – or chronic – the result of taking the drug for years. 

You Suspect Your Harm Is Related to a Drug

A successful pharmaceutical injury case will have to link your injuries to your drug. Sometimes, this will be easy because it’s a known side effect of this particular drug. Other times, you might suspect a connection because the effect happened soon after a dose of the drug. These acute effects are most likely when you take a drug for the first time. However, sometimes a drug batch wasn’t made properly, and you might have a sudden, negative effect from a drug that you normally take safely. Kidney and liver damage are often linked to long-term use of pharmaceutical drugs, because this is where drugs are processed in the body and/or filtered from the blood. 

Remember: drug injuries might not be related to one drug, but to an interaction between two drugs or a drug and food or dietary supplements. 

You Weren’t Adequately Warned of the Effect

Another aspect of most successful drug injury cases is that you weren’t properly warned of potential side effects. Side effects are an inherent risk in the use of pharmaceutical drugs. However, it’s important that drug manufacturers and doctors make it clear what the risks are so that you can make an informed decision about whether the drug’s benefits are worth the risks. 

An inadequate warning is one that:

  • Doesn’t mention a known serious side effect
  • Fails to explain how your dosage or frequency of use relates to side effects
  • Doesn’t mention the warning signs of serious side effects
  • Conceals alternatives that might be safer
  • Doesn’t mention dangerous interactions with foods, dietary supplements, or other drugs
  • Downplays a serious side effect
  • Buries a serious side effect in a list of minor side effects

Just giving you a list of side effects or telling you to read the label is inadequate. Don’t assume that your doctor alone is responsible for the warning you receive about drug side effects. Pharmaceutical companies often train doctors in prescribing their medications, including how to convey warnings, which may be done in specific ways designed to get reluctant individuals to choose an expensive, dangerous drug. 

Types of Defective Drug Cases

Your drug injury experience will be unique to you. You’ll have particular experiences that mean your case should be handled personally, rather than as just another defective drug case. However, defective drug cases typically fall into three different categories:

  • Design defects are when the drug is unsafe as designed. The drug is either less effective than other drugs on the market or has more serious side effects. The decision to market a defective drug design might be the result of trying to get a blockbuster drug out before a competitor does, or perhaps a drug company thought they invested too much into a drug to not market it once the defect was discovered.
  • Manufacturing defects occur when drugs are not manufactured as they were designed. They may have inadequate amounts of the active ingredient, might be contaminated, or might have a defective coating or binder that interferes with the drug’s activity. These defects might be related to cost-cutting measures such as understaffing a manufacturing facility, not performing regular maintenance on machinery, or outsourcing production. 
  • Marketing defects occur when a drug is marketed in ways that increase risks to patients. A common marketing defect is promoting a drug to people who are not good candidates for that drug. For example, a drug might be a good alternative if a certain common drug isn’t tolerated, but instead of being marketed as an alternative, it is marketed as a frontline treatment. Other marketing defects include not mentioning or downplaying risks. 

It’s possible to experience one, two, or all three types of defects at the same time. During your consultation, we will get a good idea about what types of defects might be responsible for your injuries. 

Who Can Be Held Liable in Drug Injury Cases

The process of designing, manufacturing, marketing, and delivering a drug is complicated. As a result, many people and organizations can potentially be held liable when an injury results. Drug injury cases can seek compensation from:

  • Pharmaceutical companies that design and market drugs. These companies have a responsibility to make sure drugs aren’t defective in design or marketed in a dangerous way. They are also responsible for making sure the drug is properly manufactured, whether they do it themselves or outsource it to another company.
  • Pharmaceutical manufacturers have a responsibility to make sure the manufacturing processes they use produce safe and effective drugs. This means having a well-designed process and performing adequate quality control. 
  • Doctors, hospitals, HMOs, and insurers can be held liable when you are prescribed a drug that is unsafe for you. Doctors have a responsibility to make sure that the drugs they are prescribing are appropriate for their patients. In addition, hospitals and HMOs have a responsibility to make sure that they hire skilled physicians and train them properly. In some cases, insurers might influence prescriptions by covering certain drugs and not others. 
  • Pharmacists might be held liable if they fill prescriptions inaccurately or fail to provide proper counseling about dangerous drugs. Doctors are the first line of defense against dangerous drug interactions, but pharmacists should also tell you if you are prescribed two drugs with dangerous interactions.
  • Retailers always have a responsibility to make sure the products they sell are safe. This includes drugs. If a retailer sells drugs known to be dangerous, they can be held liable. 

During your consultation, we will talk to you about who might be held liable in your case and how this might influence the compensation you may receive. 

How Much Is Your Drug Injury Case Worth?

People often want to know how much compensation they can get for their drug injury. This is impossible to say without a personal consultation. However, we can talk about compensation you might be eligible to receive, which includes:

  • Medical bills, including:
    • Emergency room care
    • Hospital stays
    • Medications (including the price you paid for the defective drug)
    • Medical equipment
    • Rehabilitation and other ongoing therapy
  • Loss of earnings, including:
    • Missed work
    • Diminished earning capacity
    • Lost opportunities
  • Accommodations for disability, such as:
    • Mobility aids like wheelchairs and canes
    • Alterations to your home or vehicles
    • Hiring help around the house
  • Noneconomic damages, including:
    • Pain and suffering
    • Diminished quality of life
    • Disability
    • Disfigurement

You probably have an idea what some of these cost. However, until you talk to a pharmaceutical injury lawyer, you likely don’t appreciate the full scope of your damages. 

Why Choose Fisher & Talwar for Your Drug Injury Case

If you think you have experienced a pharmaceutical injury due to a defective drug, your choice of lawyer will be an important factor in the compensation you receive. At Fisher & Talwar, we are prepared to help you with your drug injury case, and we are the right choice for many people. Consider the following benefits to decide if we are right for you.

A Track Record of Success

At Fisher & Talwar, we have helped many people get compensation in product liability cases like drug injury cases. Some of our clients have received millions of dollars. Our experience has taught us how to handle these types of cases, and that experience may help you. 

Personal Attention

At Fisher & Talwar, we give every case the personal attention of one of our partners. We will never hand your case off to a junior attorney. When you work with us, you get the benefit of our full expertise and experience. We are able to do this because we are selective in the cases we choose. We will only take your case if we genuinely believe we will get the best results for you. If we think you might be better off without a lawyer or with a different law firm, we will tell you honestly up front. 

No Win, No Fee

We take defective drug cases on a contingency basis. That means that you don’t have to pay any fees if we don’t get compensation for you. You are already dealing with enough additional expenses – you don’t need a lawyer’s bill until you have money to pay those expenses.

You Never Pay Our Expenses

Many law firms will quote you a low fee, then add on expenses at the end. This surprise extra bill can be hard for your family because it can cut into the money you need to pay your bills. Worse, they sometimes expect you to pay expenses even if they don’t win money for you. At Fisher & Talwar, our expenses are included in our fees. What you agree to pay is exactly what you will pay us. When choosing a lawyer for your drug injury case, don’t forget to ask how they handle expenses and fees.

Schedule a Free Consultation Today

We understand that drug injury cases are complicated, and once you suspect an injury, you have many questions. That’s why we offer a free initial consultation in defective drug cases. Ask all your questions. Get answers from an experienced pharmaceutical/drug injury lawyer. There’s no obligation, and the consultation is completely confidential. Please contact us today for your free consultation.

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