When you go to a physician, whether it is your usual primary care physician or a specialist, ER doctor, or other physician, you put a certain amount of trust in them to keep your best interest at heart. As such, if the doctor prescribes you a medication, you likely do not question their recommendation. However, should you experience an adverse reaction to that prescription medication, you may find yourself wondering if there was any negligence or malpractice at play. Get to know some of the questions to ask yourself if you are considering pursuing a personal injury lawsuit against your doctor and/or the pharmaceutical company the produces the medication that caused your reaction.
Was Your Drug Reaction A Known Side Effect?
One of the first steps to take when determining whether or not you should hire a personal injury lawyer for your adverse reaction to a prescription drug, is if the reaction you had was a known side effect. If you still have the paperwork that came with your prescription, read through all of the common and rare (severe) side effects that are known to occur to some patients who take the medication. You can also find this information online if you have misplaced your paperwork.
If the reaction is a known side effect, then you likely cannot pursue any lawsuit against your physician. When you received the prescription, you were given the information about the side effects, and legally this means that the doctor and the company that created the medication have disclosed everything you need to know about the medication.
Was The Reaction Caused By Drug Interactions?
If you take other prescription or over-the-counter medications along with the prescription that caused you problems, there is a chance that your negative reaction came from the combination of drugs in your system. The prescription insert where you read the side effect also contains drug interaction information and tells you what medications you should absolutely not take while on the prescription.
Should you find that the problem was indeed the interaction between your medications, you may have an actionable lawsuit on your hands. If you told your doctor all of the medications that you are taking and they did not realize the possibility of known negative interactions or the pharmacist did not notice the issue either, then you have grounds to pursue a personal injury suit, citing negligence.
Is The Medication Currently Being Reviewed By The FDA?
Sometimes, a medication can get approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) without some of the negative side effects being known or noticed. This can happen for a myriad of reasons including the possibility that the effects are longer term than clinical studies originally allowed.
However, if severe adverse side effects are noted in patients after the drug is made available to the public, the FDA may re-investigate with new clinical trials and new warning labels. Check to see if your prescription is currently going through this process. If it is, you may be able to start or join a class action lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company that made the drug based on your personal injuries from taking the medication.
Now that you know a few of the questions to ask yourself when you have a negative reaction to a prescription drug, you can better know whether or not to contact a personal injury lawyer, such as Smith & O'Hare PS Inc, and pursue your case.
Share14 June 2016
After my mom turned 68 years old, she started doing all kinds of strange things. She spent her monthly retirement checks on excessive amounts of food and clothing but didn't pay her rent or bills on time. At one point, she forgot who I was to her. Since my mom lived alone at an independent apartment complex, I couldn't monitor her behavior every second of the day. I brought these things to my mom's attention, but she refused to get medical help. After my mother called the fire department to report a fake fire, I took legal action. I contacted a general attorney and became my mother's power of attorney. I now had the right to monitor my mom's finances and medical care. If your loved one needs help, read my blog for information on general attorneys. You'll find tips, articles and much more to help you get started.