Defective or Dangerous Drug Lawyer in Philadelphia

People take prescription and over-the-counter medications to treat their symptoms and cure their illnesses. However, when medications have a defect in them or negatively counteract with another drug, those medications can cause more harm than good.

If you or a loved one suffered harm after taking a medication, you may be eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit with help from a well-practiced personal injury attorney. Our Philadelphia dangerous drugs lawyers can help you pursue compensation against the pharmaceutical company, medical professional, or pharmacy that caused you harm.

When is a Pharmaceutical Company Liable for a Harmful Drug?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires manufacturers to adhere to strict federal safety standards to ensure that the drugs that they design, produce, and sell, are safe.

Design Defects

Drug manufacturers have a duty to the public to design medications with minimal harmful side effects and negative counteractions with other drugs. The potential benefits of a new drug need to outweigh the adverse side effects.

Manufacturing Defects

Pharmaceutical companies need to produce safe drugs, which means that they need to use the safest possible methods when they manufacture their medications. The FDA requires that manufacturers test their new drugs to see if they are effective and reasonably safe before releasing them to the public. For the tests to be valid, the pharmaceutical companies need to test their drugs with sufficiently large sample size and for a long enough period of time. Pharmaceutical companies have historically tried to pressure the FDA to speed up the approval of new drugs before they are ready to be used by the public which can result in manufacturing defects.

Marketing Defects

When side effects cannot be eliminated from a new drug, drug companies need to tell the FDA about the possible risks of a new medication. They also need to be upfront with consumers about potential side effects and harmful drug interactions. Generally, pharmaceutical companies can warn consumers of potential medication risks by putting warning labels on a drug’s packaging, such as a label on a pill bottle or an insert included with the drug.

A Philadelphia dangerous medications attorney could use their knowledge of federal and state regulations to see if the pharmaceutical company was negligent or reckless when they designed and manufactured the drug. They can examine the design plans, safety protocol, lab reports, and safety tests to see if they should have anticipated and could have avoided the possible harmful side effects. They can also examine the disclosures and warnings included on a drug’s packaging to see if a reasonable consumer would have understood the potential risks of a medication.

Could a Pharmacist be Responsible for an Unsafe Medicine?

Pharmacists need to fulfill prescriptions precisely as ordered. They are required to give the exact dosage of the correct medication and include the right warning labels. If they fail to follow through with any of these steps, a qualified legal team can help an injured customer pursue a claim for negligence against that pharmacist. If someone has questions about who is at fault for their injury caused by a harmful medication, they should contact our skilled team of Philadelphia dangerous drugs lawyers as soon as possible.

Seeking Compensation from a Negligent Prescribing Doctor

Before prescribing or administering a new medication, health care practitioners need to be aware of their patient’s medical history. They need to know what other medicines their patient is taking to see if those drugs could potentially interact with the new medication.

They also need to know if their patient is allergic to any specific drugs or classes of medications and take into account their patient’s size, weight, and age when figuring out the dosage. An attorney in Philadelphia can help an injured person pursue compensation against the negligent doctor by proving that a reasonable provider would have reviewed the patient’s medical history and decided not to prescribe that particular medicine or dosage.

Reach Out to Philadelphia Dangerous Drugs Lawyers Today

If you suffered serious injuries after taking a prescription or over-the-counter drug, you could benefit from speaking with an experienced legal professional about filing a civil claim. A Philadelphia dangerous drugs lawyer can help you get the justice and compensation that you deserve. A skilled attorney can review your case to determine who the responsible party is and calculate your total damages. To learn more, call today.