Have you or a loved one been seriously or fatally injured by a harmful prescription or over-the-counter drug? If you are concerned that you or a loved one have taken a dangerous drug and have suffered serious or fatal injuries, please contact us for a free consultation.
Harmful Prescription Drug Abuse Lawyer in Dallas
In our everyday lives, we are constantly bombarded by commercials and advertisements from the pharmaceutical industry.
On television, there are many drug commercials touting the benefits of one drug over another and persuading us that our lives will be better if we take their drugs.
In some cases, there are competing advertisements. One by the drug company selling the drug and one by law firms warning about the dangers of the drug.
Similarly, it seems magazines are full of three-page spreads for prescription drugs. One page with information about the drug, the other two pages dedicated to lists and lists and lists of side effects.
So, how can the average consumer know whether a drug they are taking is actually safe? Unfortunately, for many people, the answer to that question comes too late.
So often, our drug injury attorneys in Dallas represent patients and their families who were prescribed drugs that they and even their physician thought were safe, but it wasn’t until they suffered a serious or fatal complication, began to do their homework and discovered that other patients had experienced the same problem.
“When a legally prescribed or over the counter drug causes serious or fatal injuries and leaves you or someone you love with lots of unanswered questions, you need to seek immediate medical help from a trusted source.”
At any given time, there are dozens of prescription drugs that are on the radar of patient safety advocates, pharmaceutical industry watchdogs, and personal injury attorneys. Our drug injury attorneys in Dallas stay abreast of the latest medical news concerning drugs and we are actively involved in the litigation of several drugs.
If you are concerned that you or a loved one has taken a dangerous or defective drug and have suffered serious or fatal injuries, we encourage you to submit your case for evaluation immediately.
Our mission is to help as many people as possible. But, even if we can’t help you, we can give you some guidance on what to do now that you have been injured and, hopefully, some peace of mind.
If I See One of My Prescribed Drugs on the List Should I Stop Taking It?
NO. Please don’t! We are not medical doctors. Sometimes stopping taking a drug can have unintended consequences. We want to educate you about the potential for harm and we would like to represent you if we feel you have a claim against the drug manufacture, but be smart! Do not discontinue any prescription drug without discussing with your doctor. Sometimes stopping taking a drug can have unintended consequences. We want to educate you about the potential for harm and we would like to represent you if we feel you have a claim against the drug manufacturer, but be smart!
Do not discontinue any prescription drug without discussing with your doctor.
How Do I Know if My Drug Has Caused Me Harm?
Not all adverse reactions to drugs give rise to a lawsuit. Some adverse reactions are well known and considered acceptable. In other words, sometimes the benefits of a particular drug outweigh the risk of suffering an adverse event.
However, the types of drugs which typically give rise to lawsuits are those where the particular adverse reaction is known to the manufacturer but kept secret from the doctors and the patient. Also, in some cases, the benefits of the drugs are overstated and exaggerated and the risks are minimized.
The drugs we are currently investigating and evaluating include:
- Valsartan
- Zantac
- Elmiron®
- Opioid Pain Killers—in some select cases
We are no long accepting cases for:
- Xarelto
- Pradaxa
What Can I Do if I Don’t See My Drug on the List, but I Am Still Concerned?
Taking drugs, especially new ones, requires caution. Take these steps to keep yourself safe:
- Never stop taking a drug abruptly if you hear it is harmful. Always talk to your doctor about the risks. Maybe there is another option for you that your doctor can share.
- If you’re taking a fairly new drug, ask your doctor if there is an older, equally effective drug you can take instead. It may be less expensive as well. Always research medicines you are prescribed using credible sources, like the National Library of Medicine’s Medline Plus.
- Don’t let advertisements persuade you to take a drug that can be risky. Weigh your options with informed doctors to consider if the benefits outweigh the risks.
- Watch for drug alerts regularly on sites like ConsumerReports.org, the source of important information used in this article. They are devoted to watching out for dangers of approved medications and keeping consumers informed. Also, check the FDA site: www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/default.htm.
- Be sure you report any adverse effects you or a loved one have suffered from taking an approved prescription drug.
Taking these precautions can help you be your own advocate and help you to keep your loved ones safe. After all, nobody cares more about your health than you and your loved ones.
How a Flawed System Has Contributed to the Prevalence of Dangerous Drugs on the Market
Many of us take prescription drugs regularly, not concerned in the least bit about prescription drug safety. The drugs we take have been approved by the FDA, our friendly doctors prescribe them to us, and so we are safe, right? Not necessarily… According to ConsumerReports.org, “More than half of all prescription drugs cause adverse effects, many of which are serious and even fatal.”
Sometimes these effects are not discovered for a while, even though the FDA has approved the drug. Because of this delay, many take the medicine and suffer the needless consequences. The number of drug-related injuries is increasing every year, rather than decreasing. Some of the delays are inevitable: It’s simply not possible to detect every risk before doctors start prescribing a drug. Doing so would require clinical trials that would be prohibitively large, long, and costly.
“If you’ve lost a loved one or suffered severe injuries due to dangerous drugs, defending your rights and getting the compensation you deserve is going to be an uphill battle.”
The systems in place in the U.S. for pre-approval are flawed and somewhat unrealistic. It is impossible for the process to be 100% effective because it takes time for results to begin showing up. Many have given their lives, and this has helped raise awareness about the dangers. There are also many holes after the approval process that fail to effectively and efficiently inform the public of the true dangers of some drugs. For example:
Doctors are urged to report adverse effects of drugs to the FDA, but this is voluntary, so many go unreported.
Many studies with unfavorable results never get published and are never viewed by the public.
Our drug injury lawyers team in Dallas have successfully secured compensation for, and defended the rights of, patients nationwide who have taken prescription or over-the-counter drugs and suffered from serious or lethal side effects.
How Do I Find a Lawyer?
If you’ve lost a loved one or suffered severe injuries due to dangerous drugs, defending your rights and getting the compensation you deserve is going to be an uphill battle. You need a top-rated team of drug injury attorney in Dallas, like the partners at Van Wey, Metzler & Williams. Our knowledge of medical and pharmaceutical issues and our compassion about the circumstances of your case are what you need in your harmful drug injury case.