State and Federal laws mandate that prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs meet strict health and safety guidelines before entering the stream of commerce. However, despite rigorous testing, clinical trials, and efficacy studies, many drugs are later found to be unsafe. Those who suffer unanticipated or severe side effects to prescription drugs may file a claim under Florida’s defective product laws.
Drug manufacturers have the duty to responsibly design, market, and distribute their medications. In some cases, unsafe medications make their way to the public, either by questionable marketing practices by pharmaceutical companies or another error. In either event, pharmaceutical injury lawsuits occur when an individual takes a prescribed or recommended defective medication.
Florida defective medication lawsuits are primarily based on drugs with dangerous side effects, medications that have undergone an error in manufacturing, or drugs that have not been marketed properly. Although medications can provide a great degree of relief, even immediate in some cases, a defective medication can have disastrous and long term consequences. Some common injuries that defective medications cause are stroke, heart attack, blood clots, diabetes, mental health issues, and organ failure.