Dangerous Drugs Lawyer in Gainesville, Florida
New prescription and over-the-counter medications that contain defective ingredients or are improperly labeled are introduced into the marketplace regularly. However, unfortunately, dangerous drugs are often prescribed with little information provided to the patient regarding side effects, and sometimes we don’t discover some of those side effects until after people have been using them for many years. This can lead to catastrophic injuries and even wrongful death.
When a person gets sick or loses their life due to a dangerous drug, the victim or their family has the legal right to sue for damages. In many cases, these dangerous drug accidents are treated as product liability lawsuits, holding the manufacturer or retailer responsible for selling defective products that wound up being harmful.
Why Hire Steven A. Bagen & Associates?
Steven A. Bagen & Associates deliver results to our Gainesville clients. We have been helping Florida residents injured by dangerous drugs for more than 30 years.
Our services have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for injured clients. Our success rate is 99 percent. The American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys has acknowledged our commitment to client satisfaction.
As a contingency fee firm, we don’t get paid until you do. Our team has more than 100 years of combined experience.
The fact that we appear on the Super Lawyers list is a great honor since less than 5 percent of attorneys nationwide are selected for this prestigious list. We were also named one of the Top 100 Personal Injury Law Firms by the American Trial Lawyers Association.
You can get help with your case from our legal team.
Find out How Much Your Case Is Worth
Drug manufacturers may not provide you with upfront and honest answers. Get a free consultation to find out what you deserve. We won’t charge you anything unless we win.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalled Zantac, or ranitidine, in April 2020.
The FDA acted after discovering that the prescription drugs contained N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a chemical known to cause cancer.
In September 2019, Sandoz became the first company to recall the medication, and others followed. Most U.S. manufacturers no longer sell Zantac.
When stored in a typical environment, ranitidine contains increasing levels of NDMA. The NDMA levels also increase substantially when a person stores the drug in higher temperatures.
Cancer risk can increase in individuals who consume high levels of NDMA. Several body parts can be affected by NDMA, including the kidneys, bladder, liver, lungs, pancreas, and stomach.
You can sue for damages if you or a loved one suffered a significant injury after taking a dangerous drug like Zantac. Contact our dangerous drug attorneys today if you want to learn more.
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How We Can Help You With Dangerous Drug Cases
Dangerous and defective drugs jeopardize all patients, not just seniors and at-risk groups. Without proper warnings, anyone taking medication can suffer serious side effects and other dangers.
Our Gainesville dangerous drug lawyers can assist you if you have suffered an injury due to a dangerous or defective drug.
Contact us as soon as possible since you only have a limited time to file a claim under the law.
Dangerous Drugs: What You Need to Know
Most people associate dangerous drugs with illegal drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamine. Most people do not consider that the prescription drugs widely available on the market are unsafe and defective.
Whenever drugs are unsafe, the FDA and drug manufacturers will recall them. If someone discovers something inside a drug that can harm the public, it undergoes a recall.
Filing a Dangerous Drug Claim at the Right Time
A pharmaceutical company is responsible for you when they put a new drug on the market. They must inform Doctors and consumers if unforeseen problems develop with a drug while it is available to them.
Despite serious health risks and side effects (even wrongful death), some companies continue to market these drugs. It is sometimes the case that drug companies do not recall certain drugs because they have made a lot of money from them in the past.
If nobody informed you of the drug’s adverse side effects, you can file a dangerous drug claim.
You can file a claim if:
- After taking the medication, you were diagnosed with cancer.
- The medication caused you to suffer heart failure or kidney damage.
Act quickly if you wish to pursue a claim regarding a dangerous drug and its effect(s). Contact our attorneys if you aren’t sure whether you have a valid case.
Identifying a Dangerous Drug
Before drug companies can sell drugs, they are studied to ensure their safety, but manufacturers have learned how to manipulate the system to make money. It is the manufacturer’s sole responsibility to ensure drug labels are accurate and complete, as the Supreme Court has said that no one else has access to the knowledge to do so.
However, drug companies often decide to hide risks and market dangerous drugs for profit rather than disclose them. In their view, they will have already made their money by the time risks come out.
Design flaws, manufacturing errors, and unpublicized side effects can result in dangerous or defective drugs. Further, these drugs can be dangerous when prescribed for off-label, non-approved purposes or when the drug companies use deceptive marketing techniques. Additionally, pharmaceutical drugs are sometimes approved for patient use before the FDA has fully tested them.
Drugs can also become dangerous in the following ways:
- The manufacturer did not conduct a long-term study of the side effects.
- Because of its similarity to another medication already on the market, the manufacturer approved the drug without extensive testing.
- Even after research showed a link between a side effect and the drug, sales representatives underplayed the side effects.
The Dangers of Teva Pharmaceuticals
Recently, Teva Pharmaceuticals recalled a number of its drugs. Due to the presence of silica and iron oxide particulates, the company recalled the IDArubicin Hydrochloride Injection USP.
Consumers can experience irritation and swelling from these particulates. Upon reaching blood vessels, the matter can travel to the heart and brain, causing a stroke if the vessels are blocked.
How Does Manufacturer Liability Work?
The American manufacturer has a responsibility toward the American consumer. It is the manufacturer’s responsibility to create a safe product for the consumer to use without the likelihood of harm.
The product must meet the expectations of consumers. You can hold a product manufacturer responsible for producing a defective product when it injures you.
Dangerous Drug Assessment by the FDA
Using a standard health hazard evaluation, the FDA assesses the severity of drug defects.
Health hazard evaluations by the FDA evaluate a drug’s deficiencies based on:
- Injuries or diseases caused by the drug
- The potential for future health hazards caused by existing injuries
- An analysis of what consequences might occur if the threat existed
- The likelihood that most at-risk groups will be affected by the health hazard
- The probability of the risk occurring
- A short- and long-term assessment of the hazards
The Different Classes of Defective Drugs
To categorize a drug’s risk, the FDA evaluates its health hazards.
The FDA categorizes drug hazards as Class I, Class II, and Class III:
- Class I: The drugs in this class may cause severe health problems or even death due to a dangerous defect.
- Class II: Drugs in this category can endanger health.
- Class III: A drug in this category is unlikely to cause a serious health problem, but it violates FDA manufacturing regulations.
Drug Manufacturers’ Careless Actions
Despite pharmaceutical drugs’ ability to cure or relieve certain conditions, they can also cause additional side effects or pain when consumed.
Even worse, many pharmaceutical manufacturers know their drugs may cause side effects but still manufacture and distribute them. Many consumers’ health is at risk as a result of this act of negligence.
Dangerous Drugs and Their Consequences
Drugs that are dangerous or defective are similar to illegal drugs. The consequences can be disastrous if the consumer uses the drug for a long time.
Dangerous drugs can cause severe health conditions such as cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease. As well as treatment for their underlying issues, they may need costly and invasive treatment for their new health concerns.
Defective Drugs of Other Types
The general public can come into contact with a wide range of dangerous drugs, not just prescription medications.
Drugs with defects include:
- Antidepressants: The drugs in this category treat depression symptoms and other mental disorders. There have also been cases of defective antidepressants causing suicidal tendencies, congenital disabilities, and withdrawal symptoms.
- Diabetes drugs: Heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases can result from these defective drugs.
- Birth control pills A defective birth control pill can lead to serious health conditions such as blood clots and strokes. Consumers may even develop pulmonary embolisms and deep vein thrombosis.
- Heart disease medications: There is a possibility that consumers who have taken defective blood thinners may suffer from heart attacks, liver failure, and kidney failure. In some cases, patients can experience uncontrolled bleeding and severe muscle injury.
- Antibiotics: A defective antibiotic medication can cause heart problems and bacterial infections in patients.
- Antipsychotic medications: Liver failure and pancreatitis may result from defective antipsychotic medications. Pregnant women who take these defective drugs may give birth to children with severe congenital disabilities.
Let Our Gainesville Dangerous Drug Lawyers Help You Today
Dangerous drugs can cause serious mental and physical illnesses in consumers. The use of dangerous drugs can sometimes result in death. The recovery process will be arduous and expensive for patients exposed to these hazardous drugs.
Experiencing the adverse effects of a dangerous drug and the toll it takes on your family can frighten you, and that’s why our Gainesville dangerous drug lawyers are here to help.
Furthermore, we understand that your family’s primary priority is healing. You may feel like the drug manufacturer controls everything. That is not the case, however.
Victims of dangerous drugs are encouraged to seek legal help as soon as possible. You will have better chances of receiving the appropriate compensation if you file a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer as soon as possible.
Insurance adjusters’ responses are another reason to pursue legal action against drug manufacturers. Insurance companies may deny your claim if you fail to file it within a reasonable time, even though Florida’s product liability statute of limitations is four years from the date of injury.
However sympathetic an insurance adjuster may appear, they will try to reject your claim and question the validity of your injuries.
Hire an Effective Gainesville Dangerous Drugs Lawyer
Gainesville Defective Drugs Lawyer
Suppose you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to a dangerous drug. In that case, you should speak with an experienced Gainesville dangerous drugs lawyer as soon as possible to determine your legal recourse. Never try to take on a large pharmaceutical company on your own. They often have deep pockets and teams of lawyers who represent their interests and not your own.
The dangerous drug attorneys at Steven A. Bagen & Associates are well versed in all the laws, regulations, and procedures involving dangerous drug interactions, adverse side effects, pharmaceutical negligence, and medical malpractice. After discussing the details of your particular circumstances, we will inform you of your options, and if appropriate, we will help you take your case to trial.
Dangerous drug cases are complex and require strong representation. The Gainesville dangerous drug attorneys at Steven A. Bagen & Associates provide advocacy for clients when they need it most. We fight for maximum compensation for your injuries, losses, and damages resulting from any dangerous drug.
Contact a Gainesville drug injury lawyer at our offices at (800) 800-2575 for your complimentary consultation.
Client Testimonial
“My experience was beyond satisfactory, from the first call with Mr. Bagen for consultation, to working with Megan to achieve the end goal. I definitely want to thank them for their hard work and dedication to my case along with the warm and friendly care. My calls were always returned in a timely manner, and no matter the question I had Megan always helped. I would highly recommend.
Once again I can’t thank you guys enough!” – Teresa S.
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Gainesville Office
6241 NW 23rd Street
Suite 300
Gainesville, FL 32653
Phone: (800) 800-2575