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Whether they are prescribed by a doctor or purchased over the counter from a pharmacy or drugstore, medications when used as directed should be reasonably safe. While most drugs meet this basic expectation without much issue, there are new examples every year of medicines from major drug manufacturers being recalled because of dangerous side effects or contraindications—and sometimes, those recalls come too late to prevent thousands of people from being seriously harmed.
If you have been injured by an unreasonably dangerous medication, taking legal action against the company responsible for making and selling that drug is not something you should do without a personal injury attorney’s guidance. There are countless legal and procedural roadblocks that can stop plaintiffs in claims like this from getting the compensation they deserve, but working with a Harrisburg dangerous drugs lawyer can give you a better chance at a positive case outcome.
How to Hold a Drug Company Liable for Injuries
While drug manufacturers are not automatically liable for every negative effect their products have on every consumer, they do have a duty to perform thorough research and testing, seek federal approval from the Food and Drug Administration, and disclose all known side effects and contraindications before releasing new products for sale. Unfortunately, what is considered “thorough” research in this regard can be fairly subjective, and there are some loopholes in FDA regulations that allow certain drugs to be approved with minimal testing.
In general, the most common justification for dangerous drug litigation is that a defendant drug manufacturer either negligently failed to discover and properly disclose a dangerous effect of their medication, or that they knowingly hid a dangerous effect from consumers or advertised their product for unsafe “off-label” use. It may alternatively be possible to build a claim around a drug being contaminated during manufacturing or having an unreasonably dangerous design when a safe alternative was available, as a Harrisburg defective drugs attorney can explain in more detail.
What Damages Could Be Recoverable?
Just like with a traditional personal injury claim, a successful dangerous drug lawsuit can demand restitution for past and future, economic and non-economic forms of harm stemming from the plaintiff’s injuries, including:
- Medical expenses, including costs of long-term care, therapy, and assistive equipment
- Costs of in-home assistance and care
- Lost working capacity and/or work income
- Physical discomfort and pain
- Emotional anguish and suffering
- Lost consortium
- Lost enjoyment/quality of life
It is rare for lawsuits pursued by individual plaintiffs against massive pharmaceutical companies to be successful, given the amount of money and resources these companies devote to fighting litigation of this nature. For this reason, it is often worth discussing with a lawyer whether joining or starting a mass tort claim over a dangerous drug in Harrisburg might be worthwhile.
Schedule a Free Consultation With a Harrisburg Dangerous Drugs Attorney
Every company that makes and sells medicines of any kind has a legal duty to provide reasonably safe products that are free of any undisclosed risks. However, knowing about that duty is one thing, and proving that a “Big Pharma” giant violated it is another entirely—especially if you try to do it by yourself.
Fortunately, you have help available from a seasoned Harrisburg dangerous drugs lawyer with experience fighting and winning on behalf of people like you. Contact us at Lowenthal & Abrams, Injury Attorneys to get started.
