Houston is home to one of the largest medical centers in the United States. The Texas Medical Center (TMC) has over 9,200 patient beds and receives an average of over 3,300 patients per day and over 8 million patients per year. Additionally, there are over three-quarter million ER visits in any given year. With our aging population, there seems to be a burden on our medical system. Side effects from prescription medications and medical devices can cause serious injury with lasting disabilities. Whether due to poor testing or rare side effects, Attorney Paul Moody can help you get the compensation you deserve if you have been seriously injured by effects from prescribed medications or medical devices that may have been surgically implanted.
What to do if you think you are having severe adverse reactions to a prescription drug or medical device
Pursuing a defective or dangerous drug claim requires a deep understanding of the relevant laws and regulations. For a successful case, your attorney will likely need to consult with a qualified medical expert to testify on your behalf. This is why it’s best to choose an experienced attorney to help with your case.
Types of Defective Drug Lawsuits
If a drug is “unreasonably dangerous” even when used properly, the drug is improperly designed. Claims based on an improper design are rare because most unreasonably dangerous drugs aren’t approved by the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
Sometimes, a drug is properly designed, but something occurs during the manufacturing process that causes the drug to become unsafe. The most common example of this is a drug that becomes contaminated during the manufacturing process.
Drugs must come with proper warning labels that make consumers aware of potential side effects. When they don’t (or when an advertisement associated with the drug is misleading), a bad drug lawsuit may be appropriate. Importantly, Texas has adopted the learned intermediary doctrine. This means that, in certain cases, the manufacturer’s duty to warn consumers is limited to providing adequate warnings to the prescribing physician who then assumes the duty to pass the necessary information on to the consumer.
Defective Drug and Medical Devices Statistics
Almost half of Americans take at least one prescription medication and nearly a quarter use three or more drugs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prescription drug incidents account for 1.6 million injuries annually. In 2018, the FDA’s public database showed more than 9 million of those reports were classified as serious. Between 2018 and 2019, for example, several drug companies recalled batches of the blood pressure medications valsartan, irbesartan and losartan. The medications contained trace amounts of the cancer-causing chemicals N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA).
What injuries can result from taking a bad drug?
There are numerous negative side effects that a person can experience from taking a bad drug. These injuries range from minor to life-threatening and include:
- Heart attack
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Stroke
- Depression or other mental health issues
- Organ failure
- Death
If you suspect that a drug is making you worse instead of better, it’s important that you seek immediate medical attention. It’s also important to document the medical care you receive, as well as your injuries, in order to improve your chances of success with any future lawsuit.
Frequently Asked Defective Drugs and Medical Devices Questions
Any person who has been injured or the survivors of a loved one who has been killed as a result of a defective medical implant, device or prescription drug can bring a lawsuit if they can establish fault on the part of the manufacturer, supplier or seller of the device or the physician(s) who inserted the device or prescribed the drug if they can establish negligence of the physician. Both minors and adults can bring medical product and drug cases.
A number of different persons and entities may have exposure for liability in medical implant, device and drug cases. This would include the manufacturer, supplier or seller of a negligently designed or manufactured product if the plaintiff can establish the fault of one of these defendants.
Further, you can bring a lawsuit against a physician, other health care provider or hospital that implanted a medical device or prescribed a dangerous drug if the plaintiff can establish that it was below the standard of care for the health care provider to implant the device or prescribe the drug.
However, unless it can be established that the physician knew of the risk of the implant or drug or that the implant or prescription was contraindicated given your condition, you will have a very difficult time winning the case against a health care provider.
es, absolutely. Because you must establish negligence in the design and manufacturing process of the product, it becomes virtually impossible for one person alone to take on a drug or medical product manufacturing company. The case will cost millions of dollars, and perhaps tens of millions of dollars to pursue.
Paul Is Here To Help You
Although the FDA and drug / medical device manufacturers are heavily regulated and testing is supposed to be rigorous and all encompassing, certain things do slip by in the design, manufacture and marketing of drugs and medical devices. Sometimes, the serious side effect did not materialize during the three phases of clinical trials. Determining fault can be very difficult and the fight may be a long one, but Attorney Paul Moody is here to help you navigate the legal issues and represent you to get the most compensation for your case.
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