Injured by a Defective Drug or Medical Device? Let Us Help.
If you’ve had an issue with a defective medicine or medical device, then contact a Richmond defective drug lawyer near you to see if you have the grounds for a case. Drug manufacturers are required to follow strict standards throughout the manufacturing process. The reason for this is simple: A small mistake in making a drug can result in complications like an overdose, which killed more than 70,000 Americans in 2019 alone.
When a person purchases a drug from a pharmacy, they’re effectively entrusting their money and their lives to the pharmacy and the manufacturer. When that trust is breached because they received a defective drug, the consequences can be dire.
What Is a Defective Drug?
Certain drugs are manufactured to produce very specific effects. When these drugs are manufactured incorrectly, they can produce unintended effects like organ failure or increasing a person’s risk for a heart attack.
Drugs become defective when the manufacturers place more emphasis on advertising and sales instead of quality testing. This results in drugs that are of subpar quality. At best, these drugs merely have weakened effects, wasting the buyer’s money. At worst, they can lead to complications and even death.
How Do Defective Medical Devices Enter the Market?
Body parts made of stainless steel, battery-powered devices, hip replacements, and even battery-powered heart devices play a large role in the medical world today. But all of them are not always safe. This is because regulators can not screen and check every product.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the authority that allows these products to reach the market. However, many companies opt to use some shortcuts to get the medical device accepted by the FDA. This shortcut is called Premarket Notification or 510(k) process. As a result, sometimes patients end up with defective medical devices around the U.S., including Richmond, TX.
Who Is Liable for Defective Drugs or Medical Devices?
Liability for injuries arising from defective drug use is usually attributed to the manufacturers, and this is usually the case when the drug is manufactured incorrectly. In cases of defective medical devices, this involves product liability law, based on which a company is supposed to be responsible for the injuries caused by the dangerous products they are selling.
Drug companies and doctors have an obligation to disclose potential side effects to patients before administering or prescribing drugs. This is especially the case where the prescription drugs to be used can have side effects which can potentially interfere with other medications already being taken.
The failure to make these disclosures can make the drug company or the doctor liable for injuries arising from the use of their drugs. With a dedicated law firm on your side, you stand the chance to get compensation for whatever damages you have suffered or would have to suffer in the future because of it. These include things such as lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering.
Contact a Defective Drug and Medical Device Attorney
When it comes to defective drugs or medical devices you’ll need someone well-versed in both law and medicine.
Legal knowledge is necessary to know the different theories of liability and properly attribute the liability to the parties at fault. Defendants in defective drug and medical device cases usually try to deflect blame by arguing that the product was not defective or that the injury was not related.
Knowledge in the medical industry is also necessary to properly establish the connection between the defective drug or device and the injury suffered by the claimant.
Here at Estes Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, our Richmond defective drug lawyers have the credibility and experience to help you fully establish your claim. To book an initial consultation with us, contact us at 281-238-5400 or through the form below.