Just as doctors can be held liable for negligent medical care, pharmaceutical companies can be held liable for marketing a dangerous and defective product, or failing to provide adequate product warnings. For example, in the fen-phen suits, the legal theories involved included strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty, fraud, misrepresentation, and violation of the deceptive trade practice laws. To these claims, drug makers raise numerous defenses, including voluntarily assumed and/or incurred risk, contributory/comparative negligence, idiosyncratic reaction, misuse, the learned intermediary doctrine, and FDA regulatory compliance.
Various medications and medical devices are being investigated which potentially may cause injuries for which compensation may be available. The following list is not exhaustive and we recommend calling if you have questions. Medications: Bextra (valdecoxib) - heart attacks and strokes; Fosamax - bone disease of jaw; Ortho Evra Patch - blood clotting related illnesses; Permax (pergolide) - cardiac symptoms; Trasylol - strokes, heart problems, kidney damage; Zithromax (azithromycin) - liver and kidney damage; Premarin and Prempro (estrogen replacement) - cancer.
Medical devices for which we would be happy to answer questions include: Medtronic Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators; Guidant Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators and Pacemakers.
Though many defective drugs have been taken off of the market, frequently drugs that are still approved for sale by the FDA drugs can pose dangers if not properly prescribed or used, or are used in dangerous combinations with other drugs, or used for an unapproved purpose. Additionally, some drugs once thought to be safe have been found over time to be dangerous.
The FDA keeps an up-to-date list of drugs that may pose safety concerns in certain circumstances at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/default.htm. Additionally, common drugs which you may wish to further investigate include:
| Accolate | Adderall | Advair | Avandia |
| Baycol | COX-2 Inhibitors | Cylert | Darvocet |
| Darvon | Diet Drugs | Ephedra | Femara |
| Fen Phen | Gadolinium | Gardasil | Herceptin |
| Fosamax | Ketek | Levaquin | Lipitor |
| Lotronex | Nexium | Ortho Evra | Paxil |
| Permax | Prempro | Prilosec | Propoxyphene |
| Protopic | Provigil | Prozac | Redux |
| Reglan | Remicade | Serevent | Seroquel |
| Tequin | Viagra |
This is not an exhaustive list. If you are concerned about a drug ask your physician, pharmacist or consult the FDA website more information about defective drugs. If a drug you have been taking is now listed as defective and you feel you have been injured, contact a lawyer.
For more specific examples of the areas of law in which we concentrate, the firm has compiled a list of notable cases for your review.