Ponchatoula Dangerous Drugs Lawyer

Over-the-counter and prescription drugs have saved, prolonged, and significantly improved many people’s quality of life. If you take them, you know the process to bring medicines to market is supposed to keep you safe. However, sometimes things go wrong, and injuries occur.

Pharmaceutical companies that manufacture medicines are required to update the public whenever they discover harmful side effects related to their products. If the harm outweighs the benefits, these medicines should be pulled from the stream of commerce. But oftentimes before medicines are discontinued, they can hurt consumers, like the cancer-causing ranitidine in Zantac. If you suffered complications from a prescription or over-the-counter medication, a Ponchatoula dangerous drugs lawyer could help you seek compensation from the negligent party. Reach out to a knowledgeable personal injury attorney today.

Dangerous Drug Lawsuits Based on Negligence

Plaintiffs who pursue a personal injury lawsuit have been injured because someone else was negligent. Defendants in a negligence claim can include not just the pharmaceutical company but anyone who had a duty to ensure safe drugs entered the stream of commerce and breached that duty. This could include the drug company, manufacturer, prescribing physician, pharmacist, or distributor.

In order to file a negligence claim, the plaintiff must show that the defendant had a duty to provide safe products, breached that duty, and the breach caused the person’s injury. The plaintiff must prove all of these elements to prevail in an injury lawsuit. A skilled dangerous drugs attorney in Ponchatoula could examine all aspects of how a patient was harmed to determine who might be responsible.

When a Patient is Partly to Blame for Injury

In negligence cases, under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2323, plaintiffs can still recover damages even if they are partly responsible for the injuries. The court allocates blame, also known as comparative fault, and any compensation awarded is reduced to the percentage of fault assigned to all defendants. Thus, if a manufacturer failed to warn about a medicine’s danger, a physician prescribed it for an ailment it was not meant to treat, and the patient exceeded the recommended dose, the court might assign equal blame to all three parties. This would reduce the injured person’s financial award to the combined percentage for which the two defendants are responsible.

Before proceeding with an action for negligence, an injured individual should assess if they:

  • Took the medication for the FDA-approved application
  • Gave themselves the recommended dosage of the medication or exceeded it
  • Experienced a side effect not disclosed on the warning label or discussed by the prescribing doctor
  • Contracted a disease, missed work, or needed medical and rehabilitative care attributed to the medicine

A well-versed attorney focused on dangerous drug cases would be aware of the products drug companies ignored after investigating problems patients reported. Ignoring problems could be considered a breach of the duty to provide safe products, the first two elements necessary to prove negligence.

The Food and Drug Administration Approves and Monitors Drugs

Medicines are not haphazardly released into the marketplace. Generally, they are safe and have been tested and monitored after release. After scientists develop drugs, the pharmaceutical companies conduct clinical trials with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) oversight. Once drugs are approved, the FDA monitors them for problems reported by a wide range of consumers.

If a drug is deemed dangerous, the pharmaceutical company can voluntarily remove it from commerce, or the FDA can take the initiative. Many drugs have been removed from pharmacy shelves over the past several years, resulting in numerous lawsuits. A Ponchatoula harmful drugs attorney could seek compensation from negligent parties who have caused harm to consumers.

Schedule a Consultation with a Ponchatoula Dangerous Drugs Attorney

Over-the-counter and prescription medications have helped many people live longer and healthier lives. For the most part, the benefits outweigh any side effects. However, sometimes a drug company may try to rush a medication to market with inadequate testing or warnings, or dangerous side effects come to light after numerous people begin taking the drug. In these cases, injuries to consumers are because of another party’s negligent actions.

If you were harmed after taking prescribed or over-the-counter medication, a Ponchatoula dangerous drugs lawyer could investigate your case and fight to get you monetary damages if the careless actions of others caused your injuries. Call now to schedule your initial consultation.

Parker Layrisson Law Firm

Parker Layrisson Law Firm
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