Pharmaceutical Product Liability Claims and Litigation

Pharmaceutical companies are required to make drugs that are safe.

Yet every year, approximately 200,000 people die from adverse reactions to supposedly safe prescription medications and over-the-counter drugs. Others suffer permanent damage to their health.

United States and multi-national pharmaceutical companies each year bring new and different products to market. Some have adequately been tested, but some regrettably have not. Recent history teaches us that drug manufacturers, in their desire to aggressively market their products and focus on profits, oftentimes ignore harmful side effects of otherwise beneficial drugs and medical devices. In the pursuit of profit, or because of poor science, many consumers are hurt each year by drugs which create, rather than relieve, human pain and suffering.

Drugs are often rushed to the market without adequate testing and without adequate warnings of their side effects. Unfortunately FDA approval does not mean a drug is safe. The burden is on the manufacturer, not the government, to make a safe drug and to warn doctors and patients of potential side effects associated with the drug's use. Whether a severe or fatal prescription drug injury was the fault of the prescribing physician or the pharmaceutical manufacturer makes little difference to the family who needs to face the death or disability, but the question is of critical importance to the attorney entrusted with the family's claim for damages.

Patrick J. Filan has experience and expertise in fighting drug companies. If you or a loved one has suffered serious injury from a prescription or over the counter drug, contact Patrick J. Filan. Let our successful track record in pharmaceutical liability cases work to your advantage.

Physicians may be liable for prescribing improper medications. In fact, the law generally requires the doctor to decide which medication is proper for a given patient with a given condition.

A product liability claim against a pharmaceutical manufacturer typically examines the entire history of a given medication from initial research and development through FDA approval and marketing. Liability against the manufacturer will often turn on such factors as the following:

• Concealing unfavorable test results from peer review or federal regulators
• Misleading claims about the benefits of the drug that obscure the risks
• Failing to evaluate the medication's side effects in combination with other drugs or certain medical conditions
• Inadequate quality control in the manufacturing process
• Improper instructions to physicians about side effects or patients for whom the drug should not be prescribed
• Overzealous sales and marketing of the product

In our experience, many pharmaceutical liability claims reflect the manufacturer's misplaced priority for profits over safety. In some cases, a drug that is safe for treating one medical condition is later promoted for the treatment of a different illness without the necessary tests and peer review. In other cases, aggressive marketing campaigns encourage patients to request the drug, or mislead physicians about the product's safety and efficacy. Our law firm's experience with pharmaceutical liability litigation helps us identify the essential issues through examining the complete history of the drug.

Filan and Associates has experience and expertise in fighting drug companies. If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury from a prescription or over the counter drug — antibiotics, blood pressure medication, allergy treatment, or any other medication — contact Patrick J. Filan. Let our successful track record in pharmaceutical liability cases work to your advantage.