Miami Dangerous Drugs Lawyer
Millions of Florida residents take prescription medications for a wide variety of medical conditions every day. In the United States, all prescription drugs are tested, regulated, and approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, despite the extensive and formal regulation of prescription drugs, harmful side-effects have injured thousands of people in the United States.
What are Dangerous Drugs?
Pharmaceutical companies incur huge costs of many millions of dollars for each new prescription drug they create. Many attempts at creating new medications fail because the drug in question does not win FDA approval and, therefore, cannot be sold in the United States. Because the costs of research and development are so great, pharmaceutical manufacturers have a very strong economic incentive to obtain FDA approval for a drug and then sell as many units of that drug as possible. A high volume of sales of a drug helps the manufacturer to recover its research and development costs for that drug, as well as for the other drugs the manufacturer began to make but that did not receive FDA approval.
While the majority of prescription drugs are safe and effective, occasionally the severe economic pressures of the pharmaceutical industry cause manufacturers to cut corners that can harm the consumers who use the drugs. Such pressures may lead a drug manufacturer to minimize the information about a drug’s side-effects or to avoid recalling a drug that has injured persons who used it.
Also, problems inherent in prescription drug manufacturing and marketing can lead to trouble. Some of the more common problems include the following:
- Flaws in the design of a drug;
- Errors in the process of manufacturing a drug;
- Contamination of a drug during the manufacturing process; and
- Serious drug side-effects that the manufacturer does not publicize.
Harmful Practices of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
Driven by great economic pressures and the need to make a profit, unfortunately, some pharmaceutical manufacturers engage in the following practices that can result in dangerous drugs reaching consumers:
- Marketing some drugs for so-called “off-label” uses that do not have FDA approval;
- Marketing some drugs for use in populations (such as children or elderly persons) for whom the FDA has not approved their use;
- Failing to recall some drugs, even though those drugs have serious, harmful side-effects that have hurt the persons using them; and
- Failing to adequately warn doctors and consumers about the frequency or severity of a drug’s side-effects.
As you can see, the existence of dangerous drugs in the marketplace is a serious public health threat that can cause serious injuries, and even fatalities, to consumers who take those dangerous drugs. Under Florida law, if you have been harmed by a dangerous drug, you may be entitled to recover damages from the drug’s manufacturer.
Contact a Dangerous Drug Lawyer Today
If you or a loved one has been hurt by a dangerous drug, please seek appropriate medical attention right away. Then please call us at 305-372-0123 (local) or 866-769-0123 (toll-free) for a consultation about your case. You can also contact us online via e-mail to schedule your consultation. At no charge to you, you can tell us about the dangerous drug and how it has harmed you or your loved one. We will then explain to you how the legal system may work in your case.