the law office of dennis p. ryan
products liability lawyer in New York: understanding defective drugs
Medicine should help us, not harm us. We have a certain level of faith in our doctors, believing that they will prescribe drugs safe for us to take as directed. Unfortunately, that is not always what happens. Unexpected side effects and outcomes can lead to serious if not life-threatening injuries. If it is caused by a defective or dangerous drug, you are entitled to compensation.
At Law Office of Dennis P. Ryan, our defective drugs liability attorney understands the significance of these types of cases and how alarming they can be. If you or a loved one have suffered from a possible defective drug, schedule a Free Consultation with us at (212) 441-4352 or fill out our online contact form to learn more about your legal options and the viability of your defective medicine claim.
What Constitutes a Defective Drug Claim in New York and New Jersey?
The pharmaceutical drugs available in the United States, whether they are prescription or over-the-counter, are intended to keep us healthy. However, when those drugs don't work in the ways in which they are intended, they can do the exact opposite. Because there are many different types of defective drug cases, there are naturally many different ways to prove a defective drug case.
Three theories to prove liability in a defective drug case are strict liability, breach of warranty, and negligence. Satisfying the elements of these theories (you can invoke one or all three) means you stand a good chance of maximizing a settlement or winning a verdict award.
Strict Liability
In certain cases, a victim of a defective drug may be able to pursue a claim against a drug manufacturer under a theory of strict liability. Strict liability is a legal theory that holds someone liable for their actions that caused an injury, even if they didn't act negligently or have any knowledge that their actions could be harmful.
Breach of Warranty
A lawsuit based on a breach of warranty is essentially a breach of contract case. There are two main types of warranties: express and implied. Express warranties are explicit promises a drug manufacturer makes that their drug will perform in a certain way. Implied warranties refer to the implicit promises that manufacturers make when they put a drug up for sale that their product is safe and effective for its intended use.
Negligence
It is the responsibility of the drug manufacturer to ensure that their product is safe to use as it is intended. If they knew about the potential dangers of a given drug, or even if it can be proven that they should have known about the dangers, then they may be held liable for injuries caused by the drug under a theory of negligence.
Examples of Past Medicine Defects in New York and New York
Because drugs are so widely distributed and used, a defect will rarely harm only one person at a time. Rather, if a drug is defective, it is likely that many of its users will have suffered the same or similar injuries. This is why class-action lawsuits are common in defective drug cases, and why it is common to see drug companies in the news paying out settlements of many millions of dollars.
Some drugs and issues that have been the subject of litigation because of claims that they are defective and dangerous include:
Zantac as a cause of cancer
Elmiron as a cause of blindness
Ranitidine as a cause of cancer
Metformin and its cancer-causing contaminants
Injectafer and its link to severe HPP
Pradaxa and its link to uncontrolled bleeding
Belviq as a cause of cancer
Paraquat as a cause of Parkinson's disease
Talcum powder as a cause of cancer
Examples of Common New York Pharmaceutical Injuries
The exact type of injury that a defective drug might cause depends heavily on the type of drug, how it is defective, and how it affected you. However, defective drugs in the past have led to risks of:
Bleeding
Kidney failure
Heart attacks
Stroke
Death
Who Is Liable for a Defective Drug Claim in New York and New Jersey?
Once a drug is approved, there are various duties owed to consumers. For example, drug companies must meet state and federal marketing criteria. Doctors and pharmacists can only prescribe or sell the drugs for their proper and intended use and in the correct dosage.
When pharmaceutical companies, drug manufacturers, marketers, distributors, or prescribers of drugs breach one of their duties, and you get injured, you may qualify for compensation, and the liable parties are responsible for that compensation.
Parties that have been found liable for injuries dues to defective drugs include:
Drug manufacturers
Pharmaceutical companies
Pharmacies
Doctors
Hospitals
Testing laboratories
Pharmaceutical sales representatives
Each of these parties has a variety of duties to ensure the safety of the drugs they make, test, distribute, prescribe, sell, or otherwise handle.
5 Benefits of a Product Liability Attorney for a Defective Drug Claim in New York and New Jersey
Bringing a defective claim means going up against some powerful opponents. Retaining our defective drug liability lawyer will benefit you in many ways, like:
You do not have to deal with the insurance company or defendant one-on-one, but our skilled lawyer will do so.
You do not have to investigate, collect information, speak to expert witnesses, and gather other evidence because we will perform those duties.
You do not have to draft demand letters, briefs, motions, and other documents to secure compensation because we will use our research and writing skills to your benefit.
You can rest assured that your rights and interests are being advocated for with the utmost integrity and supported by facts and the law.
You can spend your time recovering while we spend our time maximizing your compensation through your defective drug claim.
Hiring an experienced product liability lawyer for their defective drug claim gives victims the best possible shot at receiving fair compensation for their injuries.
Contact a Defective Drug Liability Attorney in New York and New Jersey Today
At Law Office of Dennis P. Ryan, we have the knowledge and experience to successfully help you navigate a defective drug claim. Call (212) 441-4352 or fill out our contact form to schedule a Free Consultation.
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recent results
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recent results |
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The Law Office of Dennis P. Ryan was able to win an important motion to allow a Department of Sanitation Supervisor to bring a Personal Injury Claim against the City of New York. Anyone who plans to sue a municipality in the State of New York, must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the date of the accident. A New York City Sanitation Supervisor recently contacted our law firm 5 months after the accident, and more than 2 months after the Notice of Deadline had passed. Our office was successfully able to convince the Court that our client's claim fell under an exception and should be allowed to proceed. Our client is now likely going to be able to receive money for his pain pain and suffering and lost wages.
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Our client was a Sanitation Worker who was hit by a car while he was servicing his route. He suffered an ankle injury that required him to go for Physical Therapy for 1-2 months. Even though he did not need any injections or surgery, we were able to convince the insurance company to offer the full amount of its $25,000 to settle the case. We were able to achieve this settlement before our client needed to appear for a deposition.
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Our client was a Sanitation Worker who was hit by a car while he was servicing his route. He had to have a shoulder surgery and missed several months of work, losing Chart Money, Truck Money and Overtime Money. We filed a lawsuit on his behalf in Kings County (Brooklyn). Our office was able to settle case for the full amount of the driver's Insurance Policy. We were able to achieve this settlement before our client needed to appear for a deposition.
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Our office was able to settle a case for the full amount of Insurance Policy for Pedestrian who tripped and fell on sidewalk in Nassau County. This was a tough case in a tough venue for Plaintiff's attorneys. Our client had contacted 2 previous law firms who declined her case because they thought it would be too difficult to obtain a settlement. Our office was not only able to settle the case but we were able to persuade the insurance company to offer the full amount of its insurance policy to settle the case.
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Our office was able to obtain a settlement for $95,000 (out of a total of $100,000) for a Sanitation Supervisor who hurt his ankle in a car crash. The insurance company for the other driver made several motions to the court asking the Judge to dismiss the case. We were able to defeat each of these motions and eventually settle the case for $95,000. This was more than 3 times the initial settlement offer that the insurance company made.
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Our client fell on a broken sidewalk in the Bronx in front of a 1 family house. We brought a lawsuit against the City of New York and the insurance company for the homeowner. Our client aggravated injuries to his ankle that he had suffered years ago while playing sports. The Insurance Company made a Motion to the Court asking to dismiss our case. We were able to defeat this Motion and we were eventually able to settle this case against the City of New York and the Insurance Company for a total of $75,000.
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Our office was able to obtain a settlement of $97,500 out of a possible $100,000 in available insurance coverage for a Car Crash that happened in New Jersey. Our client was involved in a 2 car crash. She had a stop sign and the other driver did not have a stop sign. For that reason, the insurance company claimed that the crash was completely the fault of our client. Our firm hired investigators who canvassed the scene for witnesses, photos and videos of the crash. We were able to prove that the other driver was driving too fast for the intersection and was also at fault for the crash.
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Our office was able to obtain a settlement of $170,000 for a woman who slipped and fell on ice on the stairs of the house that she rented an apartment at. Her landlord's insurance company argued that the landlord had done everything it could to prevent our client's fall. We were able to prove that the landlord had not properly shoveled and salted the steps before our client's fall.
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Our Office settled a case for a Sanitation Worker who tripped and fell on uneven pavement inside his Sanitation Garage and hurt his ankle. The Worker had several prior Line of Duty Injuries (LODIs) where he had also hurt his ankle. Our office was able to prove that this LODI aggravated the old injuries and made the injuries worse.