Birmingham Defective Drug Attorneys

Doctors prescribe drugs to help their patients manage or overcome health problems, but sometimes these drugs do more harm than good. This becomes a serious legal problem for the drug maker when a defective drug has been rushed to market with profits in mind and consumer safety neglected.

Pharmaceutical companies have a legal responsibility to ensure their products are effective and safe when used as directed. They must adequately advise consumers of any side effects that may present a health risk. When they knowingly fail to do so and someone is harmed, the drug companies may be held liable.

About Our Dangerous Drug Lawyers

Our Alabama product liability lawyers understand the complex FDA approval process and how drug makers cut corners as they rush their products to market. We know what evidence to look for to demonstrate that a pharmaceutical company knew or should have known of the risk of harm in the drug they marketed and sold.

The Serious Injury Law Group also has extensive experience handling complicated and challenging defective drug lawsuits. We know how aggressively corporations will fight claims of negligence, and our respected litigators always build solid cases in preparation for a fierce courtroom battle.

Contact us now for a free consultation on a defective drug claim by calling us today or filling out our online form. We do not charge any fees upfront to investigate and file a claim. Our attorneys only get paid if and when we recover compensation for you.

How Do Dangerous Drugs Make It to Market?

It is difficult to understand how, with many regulations in the U.S., a dangerous drug could make it to market and cause harm to consumers. Yet this scenario plays out time and again, with drug companies raking in huge profits while consumers’ lives are put at risk.

There are many factors at play that can eventually lead to a dangerous drug claim:

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates pharmaceutical drugs, only requires drug makers to demonstrate that their products’ benefits outweigh their risks. Anyone who has watched TV has seen ads for medications that include long, hurried recitations of potential side effects, which often include death. Legally, drug makers don’t have to guarantee your safety as long as they disclose the risks.
• The FDA also leaves drug companies in charge of testing new medications. With profits in mind, companies may skew tests results to rush a product to market. Studies may be too small or not span a long enough period of time to fully understand the drug’s effects.
• Even if tests reveal adverse findings, drug companies may downplay this information or fail to report it to the FDA.
• In addition, drug companies may exploit a loophole in the regulation requirements, which allows medical products to go to market without extensive testing if they are “substantially equivalent” to products that have already been approved by the FDA. This is known as the 510(k) process.
• Drug companies may also be able to fast-track a medication that treats serious conditions and meets an “unmet medical need.” Through this process, the company can push the drug through FDA approval before clinical trials are complete.
• In some cases, drug companies decide to market products for “off-label” use. In these situations, the drug may be used for reasons it was not approved for, resulting in serious side harm.

Doctors and hospitals routinely prescribe many powerful medications without knowing the harm they can cause. Too often, a defective drug’s most harmful side effects aren’t publicly acknowledged until after numerous patients have been injured or died.

Who Can Be Liable in a Dangerous Medication Lawsuit?

The law says a drug maker and/or distributor can be held liable for the harm a defective medication causes if they knew or should have known the drug was unduly harmful, and they failed to adequately warn consumers. If you have taken a drug as prescribed and been injured, you may be able to obtain compensation for medical expenses connected to treating your injuries, as well as for your pain and suffering, and additional financial and personal losses.

At the Serious Injury Law Group, our attorneys have extensive experience and the resources necessary to take on deep-pocketed drug companies. We will identify every potentially liable party that put you in harm’s way, including local medical institutions and their corporate owners.

If you or a loved one has suffered significant injury due to a defective prescription drug or over-the-counter medication, we are here to take your complaint seriously. Contact our Birmingham defective drug attorneys today to schedule a free consultation about a potential legal claim.

Have You Taken a Potentially Defective Drug?

In recent years, numerous medications have been widely sold and used, only for significant side effects to be uncovered later. Legal claims already exist for many medications that have been marketed to consumers.

Our Birmingham defective drug lawyers can review your options for pursuing full and fair compensation if you have been harmed due to any potentially defective OTC or prescription drug. It may be possible to join an existing lawsuit (such as a class action or multi-district litigation) or initiate an independent claim.

Medications Involved in Recent Litigation

Some medications involved in recent litigation include:

• Valsartan The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recalled the drug after determining it contains nitrosamine impurities that can lead to life-threatening conditions.
• Actos (manufactured by Merck & Co.): The diabetes drug has been linked to bladder cancer.
• AndroGel (AbbVie Inc.): The testosterone supplement has been linked to heart attack and cardiovascular disease.
• Avandia (GlaxoSmithKline): This diabetes drug is linked to heart attacks and other cardiovascular issues.
• Granuflo / Naturalyte (Fresenius Medical Care North America): These kidney dialysis solutions (“dialysates”) have been linked to heart attacks.
• Lipitor (Pfizer): This anti-cholesterol drug is thought to cause diabetes in women.
• Mirena (Bayer Healthcare): The IUD contraceptive has been linked to damage of abdominal tissue and organs.
• Pradaxa (Boehringer Ingelheim): The anticoagulant (blood thinner) used to prevent stroke may cause uncontrollable bleeding.
• Risperdal (Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen): This antipsychotic medication may cause male breast enlargement.
• Xarelto (Bayer Healthcare and Janssen): This anticoagulant (blood thinner) prescribed to prevent stroke may cause uncontrollable bleeding.
• Yaz (Bayer Healthcare): The contraceptive is linked to cardiovascular issues.
• Zoloft (Pfizer): This antidepressant has been linked to birth defects.

The FDA keeps a public record of drug recalls. However, a drug can still be dangerous even if it has not been recalled.

If you are not sure whether injuries you have suffered are due to taking defective medication, contact us today to discuss what has happened to you. Our personal injury law firm offers free, no-obligation initial consultations. Our skilled legal team will go over all the details of what happened to you and lay out your options for pursuing compensation.

Contact Our Birmingham Defective Drug Attorneys

Do not wait to seek help if you or a loved one has suffered significant injury or illness that may have been caused by a defective drug. Our team of product liability attorneys at the Serious Injury Law Group will take your complaint seriously and conduct an independent investigation to determine what has happened to you. We’ll give you an honest assessment of your case and discuss your options for moving forward.

Contact our law offices in Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, or Lowndes County today. Our law firm focuses exclusively on defective drug and other personal injury cases, and we have extensive experience successfully litigating these complex claims.

Call us today or contact us online to set up a free consultation today.