Defective Drugs Lawyer

Over-the-counter and prescription drugs can be defective. They can be manufactured or stored improperly, or have dangerous and unexpected side effects. A consumer or patient who has taken a defective drug should consult a defective drugs attorney where they live about the damage that the drug can do. The client may consider filing on two types of grounds, personal injury, and medical malpractice. The statute of limitations for both types of cases is two years from the date of the incident.

Parties that may be at fault for a defective drug include the manufacturer, the distributor, the lab testing the drug, the pharmacy or vendor selling the drug, the doctor prescribing the drug, and the hospital where the drug was prescribed and/or sold. The list of defective drugs includes Accutane, Actos, Byetta, Fosamax, Invokana, Januvia, Janumet, Maltaq, Nexium, Paxil, Topamax, Truvada, Victoza, Xarelto, Zantac, and Zofran. A number of these drugs can lead to birth injuries. Generally, antidepressants and talcum powders can also be defective. 

When a drug is defective, it may make the patient feel worse. It can cause new side effects, like heartburn, increased depression, stomach problems, and headaches. Alternatively, the patient may not worsen. Yet they will develop new symptoms related to their medical condition because the drug is ineffective. A defective drug may also interact with other medications. The patient should get a release or obtain medical records for all the concerns they have experienced since they took the drug. 

Even problems that might seem unrelated to the defective drug might turn out to be caused by the drug. The patient should provide the records to their personal injury attorney. The personal injury attorney in Anniston, or wherever you are residing, will likely hire a medical expert to review the records. The expert can assess which concerns may be related to the defective drug. The patient may need to take some laboratory tests or visit a doctor to find a link between the concerns and the drug. 

A patient can suffer medical injuries and financial losses because they took a defective drug. They may have had to get further medical care, including mental health care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and surgery. The patient may have missed work and had to spend money on medical devices and modifications to their home to continue being independent. They may have endured pain and suffering and a loss of consortium. They may also have had to spend money on additional prescription or over-the-counter drugs to treat their condition. 

A personal injury attorney can represent a patient in negotiations for a settlement or court proceedings leading to a trial. An Alabama personal injury attorney can also determine whether there is an existing class action lawsuit that the patient wants to join, or consider starting such a lawsuit. A defective drugs attorney can act as a consultant for a patient who is representing themselves. They may also perform research for a family mourning a loss because of a defective drug. 

When a patient is considering visiting a personal injury attorney in Birmingham, or wherever you live, about a defective drug, they should take the following steps:

1. Visit a doctor and explain the drug is not working for them. Ask the doctor what other drug to take. Then follow that course of treatment.
2. Write journal entries on how the defective drug made them feel and what other problems it caused. 
3. Avoid posting information about the drug, medical treatment, work missed because of the drug, and the personal injury lawsuit on social media.
4. Prepare a medical release or obtain medical records to share with the attorney.
5. Visit the defective drugs attorney. Map out a strategy for the case.
6. Catalog the financial and other damages that the drug caused. Get and organize bills for medical treatment, transportation for medical care, devices, and modifications to the home. 
7. Identify all potentially responsible parties for the damages with the personal injury attorney.

Compiling all the information in a defective drugs case can seem exhausting at first. A patient should take the process one step at a time. This will help them avoid exhaustion and doing things in an incomplete way. When the patient meets with their attorney, they can ask how to streamline certain processes. For example, a patient may be able to have their defective products attorney receive a digital copy of all their medical bills going forward.