Today’s prescription drugs are supposed to be safer to use than ever. Unfortunately, even trusted manufacturers can fall victim to inattention and negligence. There may be hidden dangers in prescription drugs that put you in harm’s way.
At Hollis Law Firm, we understand the devastating impact defective medications can have on your health. Our attorney has extensive experience representing clients harmed by dangerous pharmaceuticals. If you’ve suffered adverse effects from a prescription drug, we may be able to evaluate your case and determine if you have grounds for legal action. With 15 years of experience, we’re committed to fighting for our clients’ rights to compensation.
6 Types of Prescription Drug Defects
Prescription drug defects can manifest in various dangerous ways, potentially causing serious harm to unsuspecting patients. Some common defects include the following:
Contaminants and Impurities
You want to believe manufacturers take active steps to prevent foreign bodies from contaminating the medication they release onto public markets. While some manufacturers have protective systems in place, those protective systems don’t always go into effect.
If a system fails to detect contaminants or other impurities, the manufacturer may release a prescription to the public that contains glass, metal, or human debris, including blood or hair. These foreign bodies can independently damage users’ health while reducing or compromising the efficiency of a user’s prescribed medication.
Insufficient Drug and Product Testing
Manufacturers are required to participate in drug testing procedures to ensure their pharmaceuticals are safe to release to the public. These tests ensure a manufacturer’s products meet safety standards and can perform as expected without compromising a user’s health. These tests also provide an efficiency standard across a product release.
Unfortunately, some manufacturers may fudge test results or forgo product testing altogether. Falsifying test results or waiving necessary testing can release inconsistently effective or otherwise dangerous drugs to the public, thereby putting users’ health at risk.
Inappropriately-Labeled Ingredients
All pharmaceuticals released to the general public must be made with the appropriate ingredients and have those ingredients listed in readable text on the product’s packaging. These efforts ensure people allergic to certain ingredients can avoid taking medications that might worsen their health.
Inconsistent Drug PotencyÂ
If manufacturers want a drug to work consistently over an extended period of time, they need to ensure each product release matches previous releases in potency. Consistent potency prevents a drug from shocking a user’s system and ensures treatments remain safe and controlled, thereby providing undeviating results.
Patients who receive medications that are too weak won’t get the health benefits they need, while patients who receive drugs that are too strong may overdose.
Inappropriate Delivery Systems
Some pharmaceuticals on the market today need to be released into the human body using certain specific methods. These methods ensure a drug makes it into a user’s system in a controlled dosage, ensuring efficient and safe treatment.
If manufacturers fail to test a drug’s delivery system, a product can reach consumers in a state that may compromise their health or fail to provide them with the support they need. Drugs that release too quickly in someone’s system may shock their system and cause an emergency event, whereas drugs that fail to release at all can see someone’s treatable conditions worsen.
Manufacturers have a legal obligation to test a drug’s delivery system and be honest about their test results. Failure to ensure a safe delivery system does more than compromise users’ health, it also opens a manufacturer up to lawsuits.
Degradation Over Time
Manufacturers aren’t the only parties to blame for introducing dangers to prescription drugs. Transportation services and sellers like CVS and Walgreens are legally obligated to ensure a pharmaceutical product is safely transported from one locale to another. Likewise, the parties selling pharmaceutical products need to store their goods properly.
Fairly to safely transport prescription drugs can see the drugs degrade over time. So can inappropriate storage. Drug degradation can see a product become less effective and thereby fail to provide users with the support they need to treat serious conditions.Â
If you can trace drug inefficiency back to ineffective transportation or negligent storage, you can hold pharmacies and transportation agencies legally liable for any health conditions that you developed as a result of prolonged use of a degraded drug.
Holding Manufacturers Responsible for Prescription Drug Manufacturing Defects
You do not have to resign yourself to the effects of a prescription drug manufacturer’s negligence. If you’re injured by a defective drug, or if someone you know starts to suffer adverse health effects as a result of a prescription, you have the right to take legal action against a manufacturer, distributor, or affiliated party.
At Hollis Law Firm, our medical malpractice attorney can walk you through the process of filing a civil claim against a negligent party. Our attorney can go on to represent you as you fight for the injury compensation you need to recover from your losses. If you’re ready to contact a representative to fight for your rights, use this contact form or call (800) 701-3672 to book a free case consultation.
