Dangerous Pharmaceuticals

Every medicine has potential side effects, depending on the patient’s medical history. Pharmaceutical companies are expected to study potential new medications in-depth to ensure they are safe for the vast majority of patients. When their failure to do so leads to avoidable deaths or illnesses, the pharmaceutical company can be held responsible for marketing an unsafe product.

The strict requirements that pharmaceutical companies must meet when creating new medications ordinarily prevent dangerous substances from making their way into pharmacies. No medicine is perfect: medications that have saved millions of people can sometimes cause serious life-threatening conditions or death in a small fraction of the people who take them. But when a medicine causes unacceptable levels of suffering, the drug manufacturer may be liable.

Avoiding Drug Side Effects

Patients must be informed of potential side effects, and doctors must be careful when writing prescriptions. Deaths sometimes result from patients not seeking treatment for their symptoms, or because of irresponsible physicians prescribing the wrong drug. For example, medicines that increase heart rate as a side effect can prove fatal if prescribed to people with heart conditions.

If someone’s death or suffering is due to the actions of a physician, it is possible to initiate a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor or hospital responsible. But if the same problems from the same medication affect a large number of people, the company manufacturing the pharmaceutical may be liable.

Contact Us

Whether for medical malpractice or dangerous pharmaceuticals, the experienced Champaign personal injury lawyers of Spiros Law can help you seek justice for unnecessary suffering. To discuss your case with an attorney, contact us today at (217) 328-2828.