When you take a medication that your doctor prescribes, you expect that you’re going to feel better. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. Sometimes, medication may not work or you may suffer from extreme side effects. In some of these instances, if you are hurt by taking a prescription drug, then you may be able to sue.
When Can’t You Sue?
You cannot sue a prescription manufacturer or medical professional easily. Sometimes medications will have bad side effects. Likewise, some medication will not work for everyone. Your condition may not get better or you may not heal with all medications. All prescription drugs have some risk involved.
It is unlikely that you can sue if your doctor or medical professional warned you of the side effects in advance. If you choose to take the drug and experience those side effects, then you probably won’t have a case. If the pharmacist also warns you of the side effects and you still take the drug, it’s the same situation. This is also the case if the packaging had enough warnings.
When Can You Sue?
There are a lot of different reasons why people decide to sue medical professionals or prescription drug companies. The most common reasons of a lawsuit include:
- Defective design
- Defective manufacturing
- Inadequate warnings
If there are any defects with the medication and these defects cause you any harm, then there is a chance that you have a claim. Also, any defective manufacturing that either causes an illness, injury or fails to treat your condition when the right medication would have, then you can file a lawsuit for compensation.
It is impossible for drug manufacturers to list every side effect of a drug or to know every possible side effect of a drug. There are, however, certain side effects that patients can sue for if they are not warned about them in advance. These side effects include liver damage, suicidal thoughts, stroke, liver damage, heart conditions and other serious illnesses or injuries.
If you were not warned of potential side effects or if your drug is poorly manufactured, you could deserve compensatory damages.
When it comes to lawsuits against health professionals or prescription manufacturers, the cases can be complex. There are a lot of rules and incidents where you may be able to sue and incidents where you may not be able to sue. Set up a consultation with a personal injury lawyer, like the offices of Johnston | Martineau PLLP, get answers to questions about your case.