Serious side effects from defective drugs can and do happen. All too often, drugs can cause serious health complications and even death. Common classifications of drugs that have caused serious side effects include antidepressants, hormone replacement therapies, pain medications, vaccines, and blood thinners.

Each year, thousands of people die from or are seriously injured by prescription and over-the-counter drugs they believe to be safe. Patients trust that these defective drugs will not harm them because they have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or been prescribed by doctors or pharmacists they know and trust. But unfortunately, many of these defective drugs are inadequately tested or have insufficient warnings on their labels. Ultimately, they can lead to serious health ailments.

FDA approval does not void a drug manufacturer's liability for defects or severe side effects that are caused as a result of using their drugs. Drug manufacturers are required to take comprehensive measures to ensure that their products are safe. Failure to disclose any side effects, defects, or other such complications associated with their drugs is negligent, and grounds for legal action. The purpose of the clinical trial process is to test the drug across a wide variety of populations so as to monitor sporadic issues affecting specific groups (gender, age, race, etc.).

Although the final phase of any drug clinical trial revolves around long-term studies designed to monitor the effects of continued use of the drug, latent effects can present themselves after FDA approval of the drug and after it has been widely distributed and used.

There are many drugs that have been recalled or that are still on the market which have caused side effects such as heart failure, liver failure, brain damage, blindness, heart attack, stroke, stomach inflammation, blood clots, worsened depression, and in some cases, suicide.

If a drug manufacturer learns of a potential serious side effect caused by its drug, it has a responsibility to notify the physicians who prescribe the drugs in order to protect the safety of the patients. If a drug manufacturer does not provide the proper notifications and patients are harmed by its drug, the harmed patients may be entitled to compensation. The lawyers of Feldman Shepherd have successfully handled many cases of negligence by large drug companies. They have successfully represented and obtained substantial compensation for a number of patients who have been harmed by drugs.

If you or a loved one has experienced serious side effects due to a prescription or over-the-counter drug, contact us today.