Prescription drug attorney in Southampton

Medications are supposed to help people by curing an illness or relieving symptoms. Unfortunately, medications often produce dangerous side effects that could cause a significant, even permanent, impairment in a person’s functioning and quality of life.

If taking medication has caused you significant harm, you should reach out to a trustworthy injury attorney in the area. A Southampton dangerous drugs lawyer could guide you through the process of seeking appropriate compensation from the parties whose products caused your suffering.

How Long Do Injured Consumers Have to File a Dangerous Medication Claim?

Sometimes the harmful effects of a drug are immediately obvious. However, it is not unusual for side effects to develop over time, remaining hidden while causing harm.

People who do not discover the harm a medication caused them until long after they took the drug might fear that the statute of limitations prevents them from seeking justice. The statute of limitations for a personal injury action, under 42 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Annotated §5524, is two years from the date of injury.

However, courts in Pennsylvania follow the “discovery” rule, which holds that the statute of limitations does not begin running until the date a person who behaved with reasonable diligence would have become aware of the injury and its connection to the medication they took. A skilled attorney in Southampton could use medical records, testimony, and other available evidence to show that the harmful effects or symptoms of the medication did not manifest immediately.

Proving Pharmaceutical Company Negligence

A person who suffered an injury resulting from taking a prescription drug or medication must prove that someone’s negligence contributed to their injury. Proving negligence requires an injured claimant to demonstrate that the defendant:

• Had a duty to the plaintiff
• Breached the duty
• Harmed the plaintiff by breaching the duty
• Caused the plaintiff to suffer documentable losses

Drug manufacturers have a duty to ensure their products are safe and effective by adequately testing their products before bringing them to market. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must review testing data before approving a drug. However, if a drug company submitted misleading or incomplete data in order to secure FDA approval, that is evidence of negligence.

Manufacturers also might be negligent if they marketed a drug as safe for certain patients or conditions when it was not safe. Additionally, the manufacturer could be negligent if the label failed to warn users or prescribers of possible side effects, drug interactions, or how to properly take the drug.

There are other potentially negligent parties in a dangerous drugs case. People who suffered injuries from medications might be able to bring a medical malpractice claim against their healthcare provider for improperly prescribing the drug. They could have a claim against a pharmacist for improperly filling a prescription or not warning about drug interactions. An experienced local attorney could investigate the circumstances surrounding a plaintiff’s drug-related harm and bring a claim against all the potentially liable parties.

Reach Out to a Southampton Dangerous Drugs Attorney Right Away

Seeking compensation from a major drug company or anyone in the medical establishment is a challenging endeavor. Understanding the evidence in these cases requires specialized knowledge and compiling evidence of negligence can take significant time and effort.

A Southampton dangerous drugs lawyer is eager to help innocent people like you who have suffered harm because of the negligence of drug companies and the medical establishment. To get a committed advocate on your side, schedule a case review as soon as you suspect you have a medication-related injury.