Drug Injury
3 Reasons Why Prescription and OTC Drugs May Be Dangerous
| December 2nd, 2019
Whether you picked it up from a pharmacy with a prescription, or bought it right off the supermarket shelf, you never expect a new medication to cause you to develop a serious illness or other dangerous complication. However, that’s the reality for countless people every year due to defective and dangerous drugs.
Drugs are supposed to be thoroughly tested via multiple rounds of clinical trials before they’re released to the general public. And yet, every year the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publicizes recalls of medications that are potentially harmful to patients. There are three primary reasons why this occurs:
- Impurities—Recently, a drug designed to treat high blood pressure and one designed to treat acid reflux were recalled due to containing an impurity that’s linked to cancer. Impurities are often found in medications that are manufactured in non-sterile facilities or in facilities with lax oversight.
- Hidden side effects—Researching and developing a new medication can cost billions of dollars. That means drug companies are desperate to get their products on the market. To do so, they may hide side effects from the FDA to increase their chances of approval.
- Labeling errors—The safety of all medications is dose-dependent. When patients take too much or too little of a medication, they can experience severe complications. Labeling errors can result in patients taking incorrect doses, putting their health and their lives at risk.
At Berg Injury Lawyers, our California drug injury attorneys have helped many people get compensation after suffering medication-related injuries, and we want to help you, too. Contact us today if you or someone you love was harmed by a prescription or OTC medication.
Why Do You Need a Lawyer After Suffering a Drug Injury?
| September 9th, 2019
Prescription and over-the-counter drugs are supposed to make you feel better. But for some people, taking a new medication—or even a medication they’ve taken for years—can suddenly result in them suffering serious and even life-threatening complications. When that happens, it’s called a drug injury, and it’s often the result of negligence.
Drug companies are required to thoroughly test their medications and to alert the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to all possible side effects and complications. But when adverse effects are particularly dangerous, the FDA may deny those companies approval to put their medications on the market. Because drug companies spend billions of dollars researching and developing new drugs, they’re often desperate to get them on the market—and that sometimes results in hiding serious side effects from the FDA.
At Berg Injury Lawyers, we fight for the rights of people who were harmed because of others’ negligence. Whether it’s a driver on the road or a huge pharmaceutical company, we hold negligent parties accountable when their actions or inactions cause others to suffer harm. If you or someone you love took a prescription or over-the-counter medication and suffered serious health problems or injuries, you deserve compensation, and our California drug injury lawyers want to help you get it.
Drug companies are well protected when it comes to litigation and compensation claims, but we know how to build cases that get results. Don’t let the money you deserve slip away. Contact us today for a free consultation.
What Are Common Symptoms of Drug Injuries?
| June 24th, 2019
Whether you take a medication that was prescribed by your doctor or that you purchased over the counter at your local drug store, you expect it to be safe and to help you feel better. But as many drug injury victims have learned, that’s not always the case.
Drug manufacturers spend billions of dollars researching and developing their products, and they’re determined to recoup those expenses. That means they may hide or fail to report known side effects and potentially dangerous complications caused by their medications to make sure the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves them. The health problems associated with drug injuries can range anywhere from minor to life threatening.
If you or someone you love takes a prescription or over-the-counter medication, it’s important to be on the lookout for the potential signs of a drug injury. Common symptoms include:
- Sudden pain—Pain with a sudden onset is often a clear indicator that something is wrong inside the body. In the case of drug injuries, it may indicate organ damage or internal bleeding.
- Blood clots, heart attack, and stroke—Multiple drugs are linked to potentially fatal cardiovascular events, including Type 2 diabetes drugs, birth control medications, and more.
- Birth defects—Unborn children are at risk of suffering serious birth defects when their mothers take certain medications, including many types of popular antidepressants.
If you suspect a drug injury, get medical attention right away. Never stop taking a medication without speaking to your doctor first.
Then, get experienced legal representation on your side. The California drug injury lawyers at Berg Injury Lawyers know what you’re going through, and we want to help. Contact us today.
What Should You Do If a Medication You Take Is Recalled?
| April 8th, 2019
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) frequently reviews safety data concerning all types of medication. When it finds results that indicate certain medications may pose dangers to patients, it may recommend that the manufacturers of those medications recall their products from pharmacy and hospital shelves. However, recalls don’t always happen, and even when they do, recalled medications may still be distributed to patients or remain in patients’ medicine cabinets.
You can stay up to date on medication recalls by checking the FDA’s safety alert page. The page includes a search function, allowing you to find out if a medication you’re currently taking or were just prescribed is subject to a recall. If so, it’s important to take the following steps:
- Determine if your medication is part of the recall—Make sure the brand name and manufacturer of the recalled medication match the brand name and manufacturer of the medication you’re taking. In some cases, even that doesn’t mean your medication has been recalled, as certain batches of medications may be subject to recalls, while other batches aren’t.
- Don’t stop taking your medication without talking to your doctor—Although some recalls are due to serious defects that can pose threats to patients, many are due to minor errors such as improper labeling. In addition, it may be more dangerous for you to stop taking your medication than to continue taking it, even if it’s linked to health problems.
If you or someone you love was hurt by a defective medication, the California drug injury attorneys at Berg Injury Lawyers are here to help. Contact us today for a free consultation.
We Fight for Victims’ Rights to Compensation After Prescription Drug Injuries
| January 2nd, 2019
When you take a prescription medication to treat an injury or illness, you expect it to improve your symptoms at best or have no effect at worst. But for some patients, prescription drugs cause them to suffer new complications that can even be life threatening.
That’s because prescription drug manufacturers don’t always make patient safety their top priority, and they may go to great lengths to get their dangerous drugs approved and sold in pharmacies throughout the world.
At Berg Injury Lawyers, we believe that pharmaceutical companies should be held liable when their medications harm innocent people like you. If you were hurt by a dangerous drug, you may be hesitant to file a compensation claim due to the perceived difficulties of winning a claim against a billion-dollar corporation.
But victims like you have the right to pursue damages for injuries or illnesses caused by negligence, and we’re here to help you every step of the way. Our California drug injury lawyers know what successful prescription medication injury claims look like. When you choose us to handle your drug injury claim, we’ll leave no stone unturned as we collect evidence that proves the drug manufacturer’s negligence caused your illness or injury.
Then, we’ll calculate how much money you’re owed for what you’ve gone through. You don’t have to accept a lowball settlement or a denied claim when you were hurt because of a dangerous or defective medication. Call us today for a free consultation.
What Should You Do If You Suspect a Drug Injury?
| October 8th, 2018
Over-the-counter and prescription medications are supposed to make you feel better. But when drug manufacturers fail to conduct thorough testing on their products—or when they intentionally hide side effects and complications from regulatory agencies, doctors, and patients—serious injuries and illnesses can and often do occur.
Being harmed by a medication that you thought would help you is a devastating experience. It’s difficult enough to decide to take many medications due to their known side effects, but it’s even worse to find out you were a victim of a complication that should have been publicized by the drug manufacturer.
Taking the following steps after suffering a drug injury can protect your health and your rights to pursue maximum compensation:
- Call your doctor or go to the hospital—Depending on the severity of the drug injury, you may need to go to a hospital right away. Otherwise, get in touch with your doctor as soon as possible. Describe your symptoms, but don’t stop taking your medication without getting approval from your doctor.
- Call an experienced California drug injury lawyer—Drug manufacturers should be held liable for any injuries and illnesses that their products cause to innocent victims like you. We know how to calculate how much your drug injury will cost you to demand a fair settlement.
At Berg Injury Lawyers, our legal team is here to help anyone who was harmed by an over-the-counter or prescription medication. Get in touch with us today for a free consultation.
Multiple Diabetes Drugs Linked to Serious Health Complications
| June 25th, 2018
Type 2 diabetes can be a debilitating health condition that can cause a wide variety of complications, including stroke, kidney disease, and high blood pressure.
There are many drugs designed to help people with Type 2 diabetes manage their blood sugar levels, but several are linked to serious health problems of their own.
Those drugs include:
- Onglyza®
- Byetta®
- Januvia®
- Janumet®
- Tradjenta®
- Victoza®
- Invokana®
- Invokamet®
Some of the dangerous conditions linked to those drugs include an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer, heart failure, and ketoacidosis—a condition that causes high levels of acid to buildup in the body.
At Berg Injury Lawyers, we know that Type 2 diabetes medications can be lifechanging and even life-saving for many patients, but we also know that there have been many reports and studies linking them to severe health complications.
It’s important to never stop taking a medication without first speaking to your doctor, but if you suspect that you’ve been injured by a drug, including any of the Type 2 diabetes medications listed above, getting in touch with a California drug injury lawyer can help you protect your rights to compensation.
Contact us today for a free consultation, and let us put our years of experience to work for you.
Why Do You Need a Lawyer After a Drug Injury?
| February 26th, 2018
Prescription and over-the-counter medications are supposed to make us feel better, but oversights during the research and development phases can lead to potentially harmful drugs being released to the market.
A wide range of commonly-prescribed medications are linked to serious health conditions, including Type 2 diabetes drugs, heartburn drugs, and blood thinner drugs. At Berg Injury Lawyers, we know that adverse effects from those medications are more common than many patients realize, but their doctors may not always be aware of the risks that certain medications pose.
If you or someone you love were hurt by a prescription medication, a California drug injury lawyer wants to help you get the compensation you deserve. When you let us handle your drug injury claim, you can count on us to:
- Gather evidence that proves the drug caused your illness your injury – The first step in a drug injury claim is proving the drug caused adverse health effects, and we know how to gather evidence that leaves no doubt about the origin of your illness or injury.
- Stand up to the drug and insurance companies – Taking on big corporations on your own can be daunting, and it may be hard to get a favorable outcome. Throughout our years of experience, we’ve learned what it takes to stand up against big companies.
- Negotiate to get you maximum compensation – Getting a settlement isn’t always enough, as insurance companies frequently “lowball” victims. It’s our goal to fight on your behalf until you’re offered the amount you deserve.
Call today for a free consultation to find out how we may be able to help you or your loved one with your drug injury.
Talcum Powder Verdicts Exceed $70 Million
| June 13th, 2016
Talcum powder is a key ingredient in a variety of feminine hygiene products. For generations, women have used these products and continue to even today. Traditionally, talcum powder contained asbestos, which is known to cause cancer if inhaled. Although talcum powder has been asbestos-free since the 1970s, it may still be just as dangerous.
Recent studies have linked the prolonged use of products containing talcum powder to an increased risk of ovarian cancer. Products that may contain talcum powder include:
- baby and shower powders,
- condoms and diaphragms,
- feminine washes,
- sanitary napkins and tampons,
- vaginal deodorants.
Since the link to ovarian cancer was found, many victims have come forward to hold the manufacturers of these products accountable, leading to landmark verdicts. In 2016, a jury awarded the family of a 62-year-old woman who died from ovarian cancer $72 million.
If you or someone you love developed ovarian cancer after using talcum powder products, contact our San Francisco drug injury lawyers immediately. We’ll investigate the cause of your illness and hold the responsible parties accountable. You may be entitled to significant compensation for your injuries, so don’t wait to get the help you need. Call us today.
Johnson & Johnson Pays $1.75 Million in Risperdal® Lawsuit
| November 30th, 2015
Thousands of young male patients have been diagnosed with Gynecomastia as a result of using the antipsychotic drug, Risperdal®. The condition is identified by the development of excess breast tissue in young men and often requires surgery to correct.
Since Risperdal and Gynecomastia has been linked, thousands of victims have filed lawsuits against the maker of the drug, Johnson & Johnson. One of those cases recently came to a close, with a jury awarding a large sum of damages to the victim.
According to FiercePharma, Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $1.75 million in damages to a man who developed Gynecomastia as a result of using the company’s product. Court documents showed the company was aware of the risks their product posed to users as early as 2001, yet the company took no corrective action until years later.
This isn’t the first Risperdal drug injury case to come to a conclusion. In 2013, Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $2.2 billion to settle claims that the company had used off-label marketing techniques to sell the medication. The company has also established a multi-million trust to cover expenses related to future lawsuits involving the drug.
At Berg Injury Lawyers, we’ve seen first-hand the serious harm that can be caused by certain prescription medications. That’s why the California drug injury lawyers applaud the decisions that have been reached recently regarding Risperdal and hope these ruling can bring closure to the matter for those who were harmed.
