What Happens if a Prescription Drug Causes Unexpected Side Effects?

You may have noticed that the prescription drug commercials you see on television are rather lengthy when going over the possible associated side effects. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) legally mandates that major side effects and contraindications be disclosed, so that potential patients can weigh the drug’s benefits and risks and not rely on misleading information. Similarly, your healthcare provider has a duty of care in reviewing the most commonly reported side effects before prescribing you a certain drug. Well, continue reading to learn what happens if your side effects are medically unexpected, and how an experienced Passaic County medical malpractice lawyer at the Law Offices of August R. Soltis can help you determine whether you have a fair chance at a legal case.

What are the possible dangerous or unexpected side effects of taking a prescription drug?

Even though the FDA approves the sale of a prescription or over-the-counter drug throughout the United States, there may be known side effects. While they are mostly minor (i.e., nausea, dry mouth, headache, etc.), sometimes they can be life-threatening. What’s worse is that you may never be able to guarantee how your body is going to interact with a certain drug. Or, there may be an inherent defect or unidentified risk yet to be associated with the drug. Without further ado, you may unfortunately experience any of the following dangerous or unexpected side effects:

• Harm or serious damage to your liver, kidneys, or heart.
• Experiencing seizures, memory loss, or suicidal thoughts.
• Anaphylaxis shock, toxic epidermal necrolysis, or widespread inflammation.

Under what circumstances can I sue for a prescription drug causing unexpected side effects?

You must understand that not all experiences of side effects qualify for medical malpractice claims. That is, yours must constitute “unexpected.” This means that you may sue your treating healthcare provider in any of the following circumstances:

• Your provider failed to warn you about the potential side effects of taking a certain drug before prescribing it to you.
• Your provider prescribed the wrong drug, which was not indicated for the illness or injury you were suffering from.
• Your provider prescribed the wrong dosage of the drug, which exacerbated your experience with serious side effects.
• Your provider failed to acknowledge how your disclosed allergies may make a certain prescription drug dangerous to take.
• Your provider failed to consider your current medications and how they may poorly interact with a newly introduced drug.
• Your provider failed to acknowledge a recall notice enforced for a certain drug and prescribed it to you anyway.

Under other circumstances, your adverse reaction may not have stemmed from how a certain drug was prescribed to you, but rather the drug itself. That is, there may have been faulty labeling on the drug’s packaging. Or, there may have been other flaws in the design and manufacturing of the drug. Lastly, a drug company may have failed to address the considerable reports on side effects experienced by patients thus far. This may turn your legal case into a product liability claim against a negligent drug company.

For further legal assistance, please hire a skilled Passaic County medical malpractice lawyer from the Law Offices of August R. Soltis. Schedule your initial consultation with us today, and see just how much we can do for you.