Drug Injury Lawyers
If a medication caused my injury, shouldn’t I be suing my doctor for medical malpractice?
No, not if a defective drug caused your injuries. When drug makers fail to warn consumers and physicians about the dangerous side effects their medications can cause, they can be held responsible under product liability. It is not medical malpractice unless the doctor was negligent or made a mistake.
Errors in prescribing or administering medication do fall under medical malpractice. In some rare cases a pharmaceutical injury can fall under both product liability and medical malpractice. For instance, faulty packaging or labeling can make it unreasonably easy to administer the wrong dose or the wrong drug.
The medication which caused my injuries has not been recalled. Do I still have a case?
Yes. The fact that the drug has not been recalled is not a problem. Many defective drugs are never recalled or are not recalled until after the drug company has spent millions on litigation brought by injury victims like yourself.
Very often, when a drug is defective the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will require a label change warning of the dangers of the drug, rather than pulling the drug from the market. Also, your case does not depend on the FDA recognizing or acknowledging the problem with the drug.
What is my drug injury case worth?
Each case is unique, and it will depend on the facts in your case. In general, you can receive compensation for the economic and non-economic damages created by the defective drug. These can include:
- Past, current, and future medical expenses
- Long-term care
- Home health care
- End-of-life care
- Special equipment and home modifications to accommodate disability
- Past, current, and future lost income
- Lost earning capacity
- Disability
- Disfigurement
- Physical pain and suffering
- Mental pain and suffering
- Loss of the capacity to enjoy life
- Diminished quality of life
- Loss of consortium
In some cases punitive damages may also be available. Punitive damages are not compensatory, but are meant to punish the wrongdoer.
If you or someone you love has been injured by a defective drug, please review our experienced drug injury attorneys to find an experienced pharmaceutical injury attorney in your area.