Product Liability Lawsuits for Drug Errors
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento drug products liability lawyer. Drug recalls or errors are common and may include both prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Errors may be made anywhere along the chain from manufacturer to packaging company, physician, pharmacy and dispensing of the drug in a hospital. Many dangerous medicines do exist and are causing injury and death across the nation.
Dangerous Drugs or Mistakes in Prescribing
Individuals with a medical condition or who are sick expect professional treatment and medicines to improve their condition. However, if the wrong medication or dosage is prescribed or a problem exists with the formulation of the drug, it can worsen that person’s condition. It can also cost a valuable delay in treatment. In some cases, a dangerous drug can result in death. Drugs that have a high risk of injuries or deaths are usually withdrawn from the market by the manufacturer or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but this can take a long time. In the meantime, many people suffer adverse or life-threatening reactions. When this happens, the injured person or someone who lost a family member may file a products liability lawsuit to recover fair compensation for their personal injury or wrongful death.
Investigations and Open Lawsuits
These drugs currently have lawsuits filed against them:
- Abilify: The makers of Abilify, Bristol-Myers-Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company, currently have more than 400 pending lawsuits. The lawsuits contend that the drug causes compulsive behavior such as compulsive spending, gambling, binge eating, and others.
- Canagliflozin (Invokana): This drug was designed to treat Type 2 diabetes. Last year, the FDA ordered the company to include a visual warning on the potential serious side effects of the drug. They include increased amputation risk, ketoacidosis, kidney damage or failure and blood infections.
- Risperdal: This drug is used to treat schizophrenia in adolescents and depression, bipolar disorder and autism. The drug may cause movement disorders such as tremors, stiffening of the tongue, breast development in males and lactation in girls. It has also been shown to cause death in older patients with dementia.
- Zofran: This anti-nausea drug used for morning sickness in pregnant women is claimed to cause birth defects such as skull deformities, cleft palate, clubfoot, cleft lip and heart defects.
Current Drug Recalls by the FDA
The following contains drug recalls, both prescription and over-the-counter, since the beginning of 2018:
- Alka-Seltzer Plus: This Bayer product was recalled by the company because of a labeling mix up in March. The mix up may cause some people who use the drug to have a severe allergic reaction or an anaphylactic reaction.
- AVpak (Acyclovir): This drug, used to treat herpes and chickenpox, was recalled due to the wrong drug being placed in some of the blister packs. Instead, Torsemide may be present. Torsemide is used to lower fluid accumulation in cases of heart failure, kidney disease, and liver disease. Serious complications from taking this drug include gastrointestinal hemorrhage, tachycardia, and an irregular heartbeat.
- Limbrel: This drug, used to treat osteoarthritis, can be life-threatening, causing a number of dangerous symptoms. These include pneumonitis and liver damage.
- Senna Laxative: This drug was recalled because of mislabeling of the product. Instead of containing the laxative, some contained Naproxen Sodium, an anti-inflammatory drug.
- Clopidogrel: Used to prevent strokes and heart attack, some of the bottles were mislabeled and contained the wrong dosage or a statin used to lower cholesterol and triglycerides.
Sacramento Drug Products Liability Lawyers
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento drug products liability lawyer. Drug errors by manufacturers cause numerous serious injuries each year. If you or a family member was injured because of a defective or mislabeled drug, give me a call at (916) 921-6400 for free and friendly advice. You can also contact me at (800) 404-5400 or at AutoAccident.com through our online contact form.
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