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Defective Drugs · Products Liability
Products liability lawyer in New York: Understanding defective drugs
Medicine should help us, not harm us. Unexpected side effects and outcomes can lead to serious if not life-threatening injuries.
Theories
Three ways to prove it
Strict liability, breach of warranty, and negligence.
Scale
Often class actions
A defect rarely harms only one person.
Liable parties
Manufacturer to prescriber
Manufacturers, pharmacies, doctors, hospitals, labs and sales reps.
Office
Kew Gardens, Queens
80-02 Kew Gardens Road, Suite 201, Kew Gardens, NY 11415.
Understanding defective drugs
Medicine should help us, not harm us.
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 Ryan Injury Firm, 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.
Proving a defective drug claim
Three theories to prove liability
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.
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.
01
Strict liability
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 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.
02
Breach of warranty
A lawsuit based on a breach of warranty is essentially a breach of contract case. 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.
03
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.
Past cases
Examples of past medicine defects in New York and New Jersey
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
Injuries
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
Liability
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 due 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.
Why counsel
5 benefits of a product liability attorney for a defective drug claim
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. At Ryan Injury Firm, 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.
One defect, many victims
“Because drugs are so widely distributed and used, a defect will rarely harm only one person at a time.”
Need a lawyer you can count on?
Talk to the team at Ryan Injury Firm
Available 24/7 · No fee unless we win
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