Virginia Drug Injury Lawyer

Who Can You Sue After a Drug Injury?

The last thing you expect to happen after taking a prescription drug is getting worse or even developing new health problems. But that’s an unfortunate reality for many Americans every year.

And while many drug injuries are because drugs are inherently dangerous, there are other factors at play in these situations as well. And because other parties are liable for those factors, that means victims can sue different people and parties after drug injuries.

Potentially liable parties after drug injuries include:

• Pharmaceutical companies

Drug companies are responsible for designing drugs that are safe and effective and then properly testing them before releasing them to the market. They must also disclose all side effects and adverse events while seeking approval. Unfortunately, some drug companies hide that information to help their drugs make it to market.

• Doctors

Doctors are responsible for quickly and accurately diagnosing and treating their patients, and that includes prescribing them the right medication. But it’s not enough to pick the right medication—it must also be the right dosage and avoid possible interactions with other drugs patients are taking.

• Pharmacies

Pharmacies are responsible for filling prescriptions written by doctors, and they must do so accurately. When pharmacies give patients the wrong dosage or even the wrong medication altogether, not only can those patients quickly get worse, but they may develop unnecessary side effects, complications, and injuries.

If you suspect that you or someone you love suffered a drug injury because of someone’s negligence, we’re here to help. Contact the Virginia drug injury attorneys at Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers today for a free consultation.

Are Potentially Harmful Drugs Still on the Market?

There have been many recalled drugs in recent years. When major prescription and over-the-counter medications get recalled, it often makes headlines in the national news. That can lead many people to assume that the drugs that are still on the market are 100% safe. However, that’s not always the case.

In some cases, dangerous drugs stick around on the market for years or even decades before enough evidence piles up showing the risks they pose to patients that their manufacturers or the FDA initiates a recall. In other cases, the drugs are never recalled and they continue to harm patients year after year, decade after decade.

Because not all dangerous drugs are recalled or publicized, it can be difficult for people who suspect they’ve been harmed by one to reach out for help. They may not know where to turn or whether their cases will be taken seriously. At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, our Virginia drug injury lawyers are here to listen to ALL stories involving illnesses or injuries caused by medications.

We know that most people aren’t aware of the risks the medications they take pose to them, especially when the manufacturers don’t disclose that information to them or their doctors. But our legal team keeps a close eye on the pharmaceutical injury, and we go to work right away when we learn that drugs may be harming innocent patients.

Contact us today for a free consultation if you suspect you or a loved one were harmed by a medication. We’ll determine exactly what happened, and if your health problems were caused by the drug, we’ll work hard to get you compensation.

Can You Get Compensation if a Non-Recalled Drug Hurt You?

Many of the drugs involved in drug injury lawsuits have been recalled by their manufacturers. Although that move is coordinated by their manufacturers and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to protect the public, it can also open the floodgates for lawsuits, as it can be construed as the drug company admitting that the medication is dangerous.

But what happens if you get seriously injured or sick after taking a medication that isn’t recalled? Can you still file an injury claim against its manufacturer? The answer is yes, but doing so requires the experience and resources of a law firm even more than when the drug has already been recalled.

In some cases, many drug injury lawsuits are filed around the same time, which can prompt drug manufacturers to recall their medications. In situations like this, there is strength in numbers, whether the lawsuits are filed individually or as a class-action lawsuit. But successful claims don’t require similar claims being filed against manufacturers.

Each case is unique, and if it can be proven that a drug manufacturer knew or should have known of potential dangers but didn’t properly warn patients, doctors, and pharmacies, they can be held liable for any injuries and illnesses that occur.

If you or someone you love was harmed by a prescription or over-the-counter drug, our Virginia drug injury lawyers want to know your story. We’ll collect evidence that proves your health problems were caused by the medication you took, and we’ll work hard to get you full compensation. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Did You Suffer a Drug Injury or Just a Side Effect?

All medications have side effects. And some of those side effects can be severe. For example, some people may get one or many common side effects when taking a medication, but in much more severe forms than other people, including:

• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Fatigue
• Nausea and vomiting
• Headache
• And more

Regardless of their severity, side effects are considered normal outcomes and accepted risks associated with taking particular medications. That’s because the manufacturers of those drugs were aware of those side effects based on evidence when developing the medications. In addition, the manufacturers alerted the FDA, doctors, pharmacies, and patients of those potential side effects.

Drug injuries, on the other hand, typically aren’t publicized, even when the drug manufacturers know that they’re possibilities in people who take their medications. In fact, they’re often hidden from the public in an effort to get their drugs onto pharmacy shelves and ensure that doctors continue to prescribe them.

If you took a medication and experienced severe health problems, worsening of your illness, or a life-threatening emergency that wasn’t publicized by the manufacturer, there’s a good chance you suffered a drug injury. Unfortunately, many potentially dangerous drugs are still on the market in the U.S. Recalls happen every year, but it can take a long time for the FDA to discover that drugs are dangerous to patients and recommend or enforce recalls.

The Virginia drug injury lawyers at Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers know the differences between side effects and drug injuries, and we help victims of the latter get compensation. Call us today for a free consultation.

3 Steps to Take if You Suspect You’ve Suffered a Drug Injury

When you take a medication, you expect to feel better. But many Virginians not only feel worse after taking a medication, they even develop new health problems and complications that go far beyond the reported side effects their doctors or pharmacists told them about. When that happens, there’s a good chance those people suffered drug injuries.

If you take a medication, whether it’s prescription or over-the-counter, it’s important to keep a close eye on your health and how you’re feeling. If you suspect you’ve suffered a drug injury, taking these three steps can protect your health and your rights to compensation:

1. Call 911 if it’s an emergency—Many drug injuries develop slowly, but some can produce nearly immediate complications. If you notice signs such as severe bleeding, confusion, extreme nausea and vomiting, or loss of consciousness, call 911 or seek medical attention right away. Some drug injuries can be life-threatening emergencies.
2. Ask your doctor what to do—Whether the drug injury was an emergency or not, it’s important to speak with your doctor right away about your next steps. Never stop taking a medication without talking to your doctor about your options first.
3. Call an experienced lawyer—Drug injuries are often caused by dangerous medications. And medications can be considered dangerous when manufacturers fail to design them properly, oversee the manufacturing process, or ensure that they are labeled accurately.

At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, it’s our goal to help people injured by others’ negligence, and that includes assisting those hurt by big, billion-dollar pharmaceutical companies. Call today to speak with our Virginia drug injury lawyers.

Take Medications? Keep Tabs on Their Recall Status.

All consumer products, whether it’s food, vehicles and their components, household products, and pharmaceutical medications, are supposed to be thoroughly tested and proven to be safe. And while most products that are sold to consumers meet all safety criteria, some don’t—including potentially life-saving prescription drugs.

When medications are defective, patients can experience severe side effects and complications. Unfortunately, patients aren’t always aware of recalls until weeks or months after they occur, especially if they receive large amounts of pills or tablets and don’t need refills for long periods of time.

While your doctor or pharmacist should contact you when a drug recall occurs, that may not always happen in a timely fashion or at all. Thankfully, there’s an easy way for people to keep tabs on the status of prescription medications: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s drug recall database.

In addition to listing the dates, names, and reasons of recently recalled medications, the database also includes a search function. That makes it easy to look up any medications you’re taking to determine if they may pose an unnecessary risk to your health.

If you find out that any medications you’re taking are recalled, never stop taking them without first speaking to your doctor. Many recalls are issued due to minor problems with labels or packaging, and even more serious recalls should be handled carefully under your doctor’s supervision.

At Lowell Stanley Injury Lawyers, our Virginia drug injury attorneys work hard to help people who were harmed by dangerous drugs. If you or someone you love had a bad outcome after taking a recalled medication, contact us today for a free consultation.

Gardasil Still Being Marketed Despite Thousands Of Problem Reports

May 21, 2012

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing statements that urge not only teenage girls to receive human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines, but boys as well. According to statistics from the agency, more than half of all sexually active individuals will be infected with HPV at some point in their lives.

In 2006, doctors began recommending the vaccine to girls between the ages of 11 and 12-years-old receive the vaccine as the virus has been linked to certain types of cancers. After research results were released earlier this year that found that nearly 7 percent of American teens carry HPV and that men are three times more likely than women to be carriers, the CDC began recommending that boys receive the vaccination as well.

With an increase in the number of individuals being vaccinated, the number of patients suffering from adverse effects also increased. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that one drug in particular, Gardasil®, has been linked to more than 12,000 reports of individuals developing autoimmune diseases, blood clots, and even dying. Other serious problems associated with the drug include:

• blindness,
• paralysis,
• heart attack or stroke,
• rheumatoid arthritis,
• and lupus.

Gardasil lawsuits are being filed to help those who were injured by a drug manufacturer’s negligence. If you have suffered medical complications after taking Gardasil®, the Norfolk Personal Injury Lawyers with Lowell “The Hammer” Stanley may be able to help you.