Chesterfield Dangerous Drug Lawyers

Many patients rely on drugs to live a normal and healthy life. When manufacturers release bad drugs, they put patients’ lives in danger.

As a result, patients could face additional health issues brought on solely by the bad drugs they took. They may need treatment for these new health problems and may even suffer permanent disabilities or death.

Virginia law gives patients a path to recover compensation for these difficulties. To discuss your drug-related health problems and how you can pursue compensation, contact Commonwealth Law Group to speak to experienced drug injury lawyers. Our lawyers will assess your claims and help you decide how to proceed with your case.

Below are some issues you may run across in your bad drug case.

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Bad drugs can mean a lot of different things to different people. Some examples of bad drugs include:

Tainted Drugs

A drug could be perfectly safe if manufactured correctly. But in the manufacturing or packaging process, the drug may become tainted with an unintended substance.

Sometimes this happens due to an intentional act. Over-the-counter drugs often include a foil safety seal to show whether anyone tampered with the drugs. When the manufacturer fails to take reasonable measures to prevent tampering, it may bear liability for any injuries that result.

Most of the time, tainted drugs happen unintentionally. A process might cause an unintended chemical reaction. Or a supplier might provide impure ingredients. The result is a drug that does not match the intended formula. In this state, the drug might endanger patients who use it.

Ineffective Drugs

Due to how drugs are tested and approved, ineffective drugs rarely reach patients. But occasionally, a manufacturer might alter test results or attribute a greater effect to the drug than it produces.

Ineffective drugs can rob patients of precious time when treating a medical condition. As a result, the patient might suffer further harm or die from the condition the ineffective drug was supposed to treat.

Drugs with Unintended Side Effects

Pre-approval drug testing focuses on drug efficacy and short-term side effects. Unfortunately, these studies rarely last long enough to identify long-term side effects. This means that side effects get discovered for most drugs after they get released to the public.

In many cases, these side effects are minor. But occasionally, they jeopardize the life or health of patients. And since they develop over time, many patients may have suffered the unintended side effects by the time they get discovered.

Drugs Marketed Deceptively

Drug manufacturers occasionally suppress information about drugs to improve their marketability. For example, manufacturers of synthetic opioids misled doctors into believing that their products were not addictive. This led doctors to prescribe these drugs widely.

When you and your doctor believe that bad drugs have affected your health, contact Commonwealth Law Group to discuss your case. The firm’s bad drug lawyers will assess your case and determine whether you have experienced a known problem or have discovered a new problem with the drugs you use.

You can always pursue a negligence claim if a drug manufacturer has failed to exercise reasonable care in the design, manufacture, or marketing of a drug. If you prove negligence, you can recover compensation to cover your economic and non-economic losses.

But product manufacturers are held to a higher duty. They bear strict liability for any defective products they release into the stream of commerce. This means they must pay damages for any injuries caused by their defective products.

Product liability claims for defective drugs fall into three categories:

Design Defects

A drug has a defective design if it has no safe use. An example of a drug with a defective design is thalidomide. This drug was prescribed to pregnant women to relieve the symptoms of morning sickness.

But the drug caused birth defects. Since it was only used for pregnant women, it had no safe use. In other words, it exposed every patient to the risk of delivering a baby with birth defects.

Manufacturing Defects

Manufacturing defects happen when the manufacturer can produce a safe and effective drug but its processes have jeopardized the drug’s safety.

One example of a manufacturing defect is a process that creates an unintended chemical reaction. Without the reaction, the drug may provide much-needed health benefits. But with the reaction, the drug may be tainted with a dangerous chemical compound.

Warning Defects

A drug has a warning defect if the drug has a safe use but the instructions and marketing fail to explain that use. The instructions do not need to be deceptive. Deficient instructions will support a warning defect claim.

Regardless of the defect in the product, lawyers who handle bad drug cases usually have experience and knowledge tailored to litigating drug injuries. To discuss whether your drug injury will support a compensation claim, contact Commonwealth Law Group.

Most injury lawyers offer a free consultation to review your case. At Commonwealth Law Group, this consultation will provide you with the information you need to decide how to proceed with your compensation claim so that you can get your life back on track.

Contact us to discuss your situation for a free consultation.