FAQ's: Your Questions Answered
What is Pharmaceutical Malpractice?
When someone is prescribed and takes a defective drug, has adverse reactions between multiple prescribed drugs, was incorrectly prescribed a drug, or was given an incorrect dosage — and that person suffers serious injury — they may sue for pharmaceutical malpractice.
Unfortunately, pharmaceutical malpractice is fairly common. It is believed at least one person a day dies because of pharmaceutical errors, and about 1.3 million people annually are injured due to pharmaceutical malpractice.
Many medication errors occur in hospitals while others are associated with the misuse of drugs and medical devices are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Pharmaceutical malpractice costs billions annually, and thousands of Americans die each year from preventable pharmaceutical errors.
How Pharmaceutical Errors Occur
There are several reasons for pharmaceutical errors. However, the most common errors are:
- Miscommunication between your health care providers
- Miscommunication between you and your doctors
- Drug names that sound or look alike
- Unclear medical abbreviations
Inadequate Drug Testing
Another factor in pharmaceutical injury is the increased pressure on the FDA to quickly approve new drugs without adequately testing them. Drug manufacturers typically push for rushed approval in order to create the medication and to expedite profits for their own shareholders. As a result, the population at large often turns into a “test group,” and society becomes exposed to potentially extreme and dangerous risks.
Adverse Effects
It could take years to know the true long-term negative side effects of a prescription drug. The same is true when evaluating adverse reactions from multiple drug interactions.
The pharmaceutical drug testing process contributes to how defective drugs enter the marketplace. Too often, the company that is assigned the task of completing an “impartial” testing procedure to determine a new drug’s safety is the same company that stands to profit from it. Since there is no profit until the drug is marketed, there is no incentive to conduct a long-term, thorough test.
Personal Injury Attorney
If you or a loved one has suffered or died from taking a prescription medication, you need an experienced attorney who knows the complex and confusing issues surrounding pharmaceutical malpractice law. You need Dan Newlin Injury Attorneys.
Call us at 800-257-1822 for a free consultation, even if you just want to know if you’ve been exposed to a defective drug. We have the knowledge and resources to get you the compensation and benefits to which you are entitled.