Fort Wayne
Drug Injury
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DELVENTHAL LAW

NEED A DRUG INJURY ATTORNEY?

Drug injuries happen for a number of reasons. When they do happen, those injured can recover damages for their injuries under certain conditions. If you have been injured by a dangerous drug, we encourage you to reach out to our drug injury attorneys in Fort Wayne, IN today for assistance with your case.

DOCTOR’S ERRORS AND DRUG INJURIES

Drug injuries often happen because doctors make a serious error in prescribing medication. It is one of the most common causes of inpatient medical malpractice. These mistakes can include:

• When a doctor does not check a patient’s allergies and prescribes a medication that he or she is allergic to;
• When a doctor does not check the patient’s record and note that there may be a bad interaction with a drug that is still in their system;
• When a doctor prescribes too much of a medication or not enough of a medication;
• And when a doctor fills out the wrong prescription.

Pharmacist Errors and Drug Injuries

Sometimes, a pharmacist is to blame for a patient’s injuries. When this happens, the cause is usually due to the pharmacist putting the wrong pills into the bottle. Many pills look the same or have similar names. A mistake like this can cause severe injuries to a patient who is both getting the wrong medication and not getting the medication that they need.

Pharmacists are also responsible for ensuring that drug interactions between medication do not harm the patient.

DRUG COMPANIES AND DRUG INJURIES

Sometimes, drug companies manufacture drugs that have dangerous side effects and they don’t warn either doctors or patients. Under product liability regulations, the drug company is responsible for a patient’s injuries.

One major example of this is the opioid lawsuits that are happening right now against pharmaceutical companies. According to the plaintiffs, not only did the drug companies fail to warn doctors about the dangerous addictive side effects of these drugs but actually assured them that the drugs were less addictive than other opioids that came before them. As a result, the drug companies spawned millions of drug addicts, destroyed lives, and hurt families. This would be an example of a drug company failing to properly warn patients and doctors about the dangers of their drug.

In other cases, drugs can have an unanticipated side effect that causes the patient injury. An example of this would be the high-potency antibiotic called fluoroquinolone drugs. These are sold under the name Cipro, Levaquin, and Noroxin among others. Current lawsuits allege that the drugs can also cause peripheral neuropathy which is a chronic condition caused by nerve damage in the hands and feet. The lawsuit also claims that the antibiotics can cause aortic aneurysms. This is an example of a drug causing an unanticipated side effect.

Lastly, the drug Risperdal, an antipsychotic, is known to cause gynecomastia, a disorder in which men grow breasts. The lawsuit alleges that Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturer of the drug, knew about and failed to disclose this side effect to the public.

HOW LAWSUITS AGAINST PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES ARE DIFFERENT

In the case of pharmacists and doctors, a plaintiff must show that the medical specialist was negligent in their care of the patient. This is because these lawsuits fall under the aegis of professional malpractice. In the case of drug companies, lawsuits fall under the category of product liability.

Product liability is a much different category of personal injury lawsuit. A plaintiff who brings an action against a company for a defective product does not need to prove negligence. They only need to prove that the product did, in fact, cause their injuries. This is a much lower standard of proof for you and your attorney.

HOW ARE DANGEROUS DRUGS RELEASED ON THE MARKET?

You may be wondering how dangerous drugs are release to patients when the FDA regulates such things. There are a number of reasons for this. In some cases, there are regulatory loopholes that companies can use to fast medicine or medical devices through the testing process. This is most prevalent when the drug is considered an analog of another drug on the market.

There also limitations on what the FDA can regulate. In some cases, companies can operate in regulatory dead zones and outside the purview of the FDA.

The majority of problems, however, are caused by the pharmaceutical companies and their drug reps failing to disclose dangerous side effects to doctors and patients.

Contact a Fort Wayne, IN Drug Injury Attorney

If you’ve been injured after taking a drug, it may be possible to recover damages for your injury. The Delventhal Law Office can help. Give us a call or contact us online for a free case evaluation.