HOUSTON DRUG INJURY ATTORNEY
Defective Medical Devices and Pharmaceutical Injuries
Each year, thousands of people are seriously injured or die from prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs they believe to be safe. Adverse reactions to prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs are one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Oftentimes, pharmaceutical companies provide inadequate or misleading information patients, doctors, and pharmacists.
When someone is hurt by a dangerous drug or defective medical device, a Houston drug injury attorney at Reich and Binstock is ready to help.
The attorneys at Reich & Binstock have gone up against some of the largest pharmaceutical companies, representing victims of dangerous drugs, medical devices, and clients who have been injured due to medical malpractice in Texas and throughout the United States.
If you or someone you love suffered illness, injury or even wrongful death from a medical device or from taking a defective drug, please call our Houston drug injury lawyers at 713-622-7271 for a free initial case evaluation. You may be entitled to compensation from negligent pharmaceutical companies.
When is a Prescription Drug Dangerous?
When you take prescription drugs, you rely on the medication to be safe and effective when used as directed. If the drug has potentially dangerous side effects, you expect the manufacturer to tell you so you can make an informed decision about whether to take it. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical drug companies sometimes withhold information about dangerous drug side effects to the detriment and danger of people taking the drugs.
Because of the pharmaceutical industry’s vast scale and the amount of money invested in new treatments, medicines are sometimes rushed to market without proper testing, resulting in catastrophic injury or wrongful death. When you are injured as a result of pharmaceutical medications, whether prescription or over-the-counter, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your losses. The best way to start your case is to contact a Houston dangerous drug lawyer about your situation.
What Does FDA Approval Mean for Defective Drug Cases?
Most of the time, people trust defective drugs or pharmaceuticals because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved them. Patients believe they are safe because his or her doctor has prescribed or administered those drugs. Unfortunately, the pharmaceutical or drug companies are the ones responsible for research and development. The FDA monitors the safety of these products, but often overlooks the real dangers of a product due to inadequate testing by the pharmaceutical companies.
Why Do You Need a Houston Drug Injury Lawyer?
Defective drug claims involve a complex web of legal, scientific and medical issues. You will be up against powerful corporations, each with their own team of attorneys and experts. Defective drug claims are often part of a large, multidistrict litigation and sometimes considered class actions. You’ll need an experienced drug injury lawyer on your side, with the resources to see your case through trial.
When you contact Reich & Binstock, we’ll ask you for some basic information about your case, such as what medicine you or a loved one took, when it was taken, and what kind of adverse effects or difficulties it caused. After that, we may begin our investigation of your case, which will include evaluating your medical records and speaking with highly trained specialists.
The next step will be to have a lawsuit filed on your behalf in a state or federal court.
If a large number of other persons have been harmed as a result of using the same drug, your claim might be one of the following.
- Class-action lawsuit: You might be a “named plaintiff” or a member of a class of plaintiffs whose cases have comparable factual and legal concerns.
- Multidistrict litigation: A separate lawsuit would be filed on your behalf, but your case might be combined with other comparable claims during the pretrial phase. Multidistrict litigation (MDL) proceedings are another name for them.
As we proceed with the litigation of your case, we will send you updates on a regular basis to keep you up to speed on the status of your case. Our firm works on a contingency fee basis with clients. This means we won’t charge you anything until we get you a favorable settlement or verdict.
What are the Types of Drug or Medical Device Defects?
It may be helpful to understand the types of claims that may be made on your behalf when you seek legal action based on a drug-related impairment. In general, there are three types of hazardous and faulty medication claims. Design defects, manufacturing defects, and failure to warn are the most common reasons why victims file claims with the help of a drug injury lawyer.
Design Defects
Design Defects involve active ingredients or other hazardous flaws in design that make the drug inherently dangerous to use.
Manufacturing Error
Manufacturing error and other errors that occur along the supply chain can result in contamination and other defects that only affect certain parts of the drug, but are not a problem with the medication overall. Likewise, packaging errors can easily lead to improper dosing.
Failure to Warn
Failure to warn occurs when a pharmaceutical company does not notify the FDA or warn doctors and consumers about the dangerous side effects that the product can cause. Sometimes, drug makers are aware of the dangers posed and go to great lengths to hide this evidence. Even if side effects are discovered after a drug is approved by the FDA, it’s very rare for the drug to be removed from the market. However, recalls may be issued to update the warning label.
What is Off-Label Marketing for Prescription Drugs?
When the Food and Drug Administration approves a drug, the drug is approved for specific uses only. Any other use of the drug is referred to as “off-label”. Doctors are allowed to prescribe medications “off-label” when they believe doing so is in the best interest of the patient.
However, drug companies are not allowed to promote the product for off-label uses. This includes marketing to consumers and healthcare professionals, as well.
Pharmaceutical companies still engage in illegal, off-label marketing of their products. Sometimes, they’ll go as far as paying kickbacks to doctors who will prescribe the drug off-label.
The Drug That Caused My Injury Has Not Been Recalled. Do I Still Have a Case?
Even if the drug that caused your injuries has not been recalled, you may still have a very strong case. While a drug recall can work as evidence in your favor, this is certainly not necessary. Recalls typically only happen after many people have been harmed or killed.
Although drug injuries do not always mean that the medicine itself is defective, the absence of a drug recall does not mean that it isn’t.
What Type of Compensation Can I Receive For My Drug Injury?
A faulty medication lawsuit seeks damages based on the following factors in order to make you as “whole” as possible.
Economic Damages
Economic damages provide compensation for previous medical expenses as well as all required and associated medical expenses that you may spend in the future as a result of the medication’s damage. You may also seek restitution for lost wages and a reduction in your future earning potential. If you have lost a loved one, you may be entitled to compensation for the services and financial assistance that he or she would have provided to you and your family had he or she lived.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-Economic damages provide compensation for your physical pain and suffering, as well as any emotional anguish you may have had as a result of a faulty drug’s adverse effects and consequences.
Global Settlement
The manufacturer may make an individual settlement offer to you or a “global settlement” offer to address numerous claims at any time throughout your case. We will completely educate you about the details of the settlement offer in your case and advise you accordingly since we understand what is at risk for you.
Houston Medical Device and Drug Injuries Lawyer
Both prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications can be defective, causing injuries and even death. Our Houston pharmaceutical litigation attorneys at Reich and Binstock represent individuals and families whose lives have been changed by defective drugs and medical devices, including the following.
Defective Medical Devices
Essure
Essure is a tiny, flexible coil composed of nickel, titanium, and polyethylene that is used to prevent pregnancy. Each of the patient’s Fallopian tubes, which connect the ovaries to the uterus, is implanted with a coil. The coils irritate the lining of the Fallopian tube in the days and weeks following implantation. This results in the formation of scar tissue, which inhibits sperm from going up the tube to meet the egg, as well as eggs from migrating down the tubes to the uterus. To put it simply, Essure is a contraceptive device.
A number of lawsuits have been filed against Conceptus, Inc. and Bayer as a result of injuries caused by the Essure device. The most prevalent allegation in these lawsuits is that the Essure device was created negligently. Some claim that the makers failed to adequately notify the public about the hazards of using the device, citing insufficient warnings in packing and accompanying papers as examples. Manufacturers have also been accused of failing to give clinicians the necessary training to implant Essure devices.
Hernia Mesh
There are three federal hernia mesh MDLs with more than 17,000 lawsuits as of 2021. Each is suing a different medical device manufacturer. Many of the hernia mesh lawsuits have already been settled, but thousands more are still pending.
If you had hernia mesh surgery and experienced serious complications, you may be eligible to file a hernia mesh case, particularly if the mesh was made by Ethicon, Atrium, or Bard Davol. There are a few basic qualifying requirements, which vary depending on the patient or law company handling the case.
Hip Replacement
Metal-on-metal hip replacement implants promised greater mobility for individuals suffering from hip joint degeneration when they were initially launched. Unfortunately, many patients have had issues with the devices, prompting recalls and warnings from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Metal hip replacement reactions can cause a variety of issues, including persistent pain, increased medical and surgical expenditures, rehabilitative costs, a lower quality of life, incapacity to work, and more. Many people have financial difficulties as a result of these concerns. A lawsuit might help you regain what you’ve lost via monetary damages for pain and suffering, lost income, and missed earnings, among other things.
IVC Filters
Many people lauded the efficacy of IVC filters at first. Patients and medical experts quickly identified difficulties with the gadget, as they did with many other medical devices. Many doctors advised the filters as an alternative to medicine for a brief time before the problems occurred. Unfortunately, the problems that occurred resulted in several incidents of serious damage and even wrongful death among patients. As a result, a patient who has been harmed by one of these filters may be able to pursue an IVC filter lawsuit. Our attorneys also handle IV infiltration lawsuits.
Phillips CPAP
Anyone who has suffered adverse effects while using a recalled Philips Bi-PAP, CPAP, or ventilator, or who has lost a loved one as a result of these injuries, may be entitled to bring a lawsuit.
Many forms of cancer, respiratory difficulties, and organ damage have all been linked to using recalled Philips CPAP equipment, according to pending lawsuits. If you have experienced injuries using a Phillips CPAP machine, you may be eligible for compensation.
If you’re not sure if you qualify, a CPAP injury lawyer may assist you at no expense in determining your eligibility.
Exactech Joint Replacements
Recently, the medical device company Exactech has recalled approximately 150,000 defective joint replacement implants. These implants were housed in defective packaging, exposing them to oxidation and premature wear. Recipients of these implants may be able to file an Exactech recall lawsuit to recover compensation for their related losses.
Dangerous Drugs
Elmiron
Those who have taken Elmiron and experienced vision problems that could lead to blindness, including maculopathy have a valid lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
According to a related lawsuit, the manufacturer did not advise doctors or patients about the risks of the prescription drug, including eye damage. Doctors are now calling Elmiron a critically defective medicine.
Injured individuals can file lawsuits to seek financial recompense for medical expenditures, pain and suffering, lost wages, diminished quality of life, and future care.
If you’ve suffered Elmiron eye damage or vision loss, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Contact our Houston Elmiron injuries attorneys at Reich & Binstock to go over your Elmiron lawsuit options.
Injectafer
Injectafer is a drug created to treat low iron levels.
However, many patients experience unpleasant and sometimes life-threatening side effects from using Injectafer. If you are hurt by this drug, you need the guidance of an experienced Houston Injectafer lawsuit attorney at Reich & Binstock.
Invokana
Many people expected Invokana to totally revolutionize the game for blood sugar control, thus the first market response was extremely favorable. However, this “wonder medication” had a slew of serious adverse effects, some of which were not included on the bottle’s label. Unfortunately, many patients have had diabetic ketoacidosis, bone issues, and even renal failure as a result of this medication. Johnson & Johnson, a medical device manufacturer, began settling Invokana lawsuits beginning in 2018. They are anticipated to settle much more. Victims of this product require the services of an experienced Invokana lawyer.
Metformin
Metformin is a prescription medicine that is used to treat Type 2 diabetes, either alone or in combination with other medications. It comes in generic and brand names, and it can be used alone or in conjunction with other medications. Diarrhea, flatulence, and nausea are the most often reported Metformin side effects.
Due to an NDMA contaminant related to cancer, the FDA has ordered multiple pharma companies to recall Metformin, a prescription oral medicine used to treat high blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Risperdal
Risperdal, commonly known as Risperidone, is an antipsychotic drug that was first licensed for the treatment of people with schizophrenia. Risperdal has been widely used to treat a variety of problems in children since its debut, including bipolar disorders, autism, irritability, aggressiveness, and unusual behavior abnormalities.
The FDA has authorized all of these uses as of today. The medication, however, was not intended for children when it was first distributed or licensed. Regardless, Johnson & Johnson advertised the medication as a therapy for children’s mental illnesses. Years later, children who took Risperdal began to develop significant adverse effects, including gynecomastia (abnormal male breast growth), which was linked to the medication.
Tasigna
Taxotere
Taxotere is used to treat a number of cancers, but it is most commonly used to treat patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have progressed or relapsed following anthracycline-based therapy. In addition to doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide, the prescription drug can be used as an adjuvant treatment in patients with operable node-positive breast cancer. Taxotere works by preventing cancerous cells from spreading by stopping them from dividing and proliferating in and around a malignant clump. Taxotere is a member of the taxane drug family of chemotherapy medications, which are derived from plant alkaloids.
Over 10,000 lawsuits have been filed against the producers of Taxotere and Docetaxel for hiding the permanent hair loss side effects. Since 2019, the producers of Taxotere have been facing legal action. You may seek justice for your Taxotere injury and the bad side effects you experienced with the aid of a skilled class action Taxotere lawsuit attorney.
Truvada
Truvada has long been the medication of choice among prescription drugs for stopping HIV cells from replicating and progressing to AIDS. Perhaps you’ve used it for this or as a PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) medication. While you may have believed Truvada would help you live a longer, healthier life, you may now be suffering with significant side effects that Gilead, the drug’s producer, allegedly failed to disclose to you and other HIV patients.
The pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, drug, Truvad,a causes kidney problems and bone loss, according to a Truvada lawsuit. According to the claims, Gilead reportedly suppressed tenofovir alafenamide, or TAF, a safer alternative, in order to maximize income from Truvada and other TDF-containing medications such as Viread, Atripla, Complera, and Stribild.
Xarelto
Xarelto (rivaroxaban) is a blood thinner that helps to prevent blood clots and associated consequences, thereby lowering the risk of stroke. Since 2011, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, has won numerous FDA approvals to commercialize Bayer’s Xarelto drug.
According to Xarelto’s dangerous drug claims, the company failed to appropriately notify prescribing physicians or customers about the drug’s bleeding dangers. Unfortunately, Xarelto has been related to life-threatening bleeding. Worse, there is no antidote available to stop Xarelto bleeding.
Xeljanz
Pfizer released Xeljanz in 2012, and in just the last two years, the FDA has warned of potential risks. But, the question still stands: why didn’t Pfizer warn its consumers sooner?
The Xeljanz lawsuit cliams that the use of Xeljans, a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ulcerative colitis, can cause cancer, major cardiac events, including heart attacks and strokes, and blood clot complications, including pulmonary embolisms and deep vein thrombosis.
Zantac
Millions of individuals have relied on Zantac and its generic equivalent, ranitidine, for decades. Ranitidine was used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), ulcers, mastocytosis, esophagitis, and a variety of other chronic illnesses, in addition to being offered as an over-the-counter alternative to prescription drugs for acid reflux. The ongoing Zantac cancer lawsuits, on the other hand, highlight the drug’s dangers. Zantac was found to be both faulty and hazardous for human use by the FDA in early April 2020, prompting an urgent market recall of all ranitidine tablets.
In 2019, regular lab testing revealed that Zantac products had levels of N-Nitrosodimethylamine, a potential human carcinogen (NDMA). While low quantities of NDMA have been shown to raise the risk of cancer in humans, there is now evidence that the amount of NDMA in Zantac can build over time, potentially surpassing the daily consumption limit when stored and broken down in the human body. Initially, the issue was only connected to batches of ranitidine made between September 2019 and June 2021.
Zofran
In the United States, Zofran, also known as Onansetron, is the most commonly recommended pharmacological therapy for morning sickness.
The FDA, however, never authorized Zofran for use in the treatment of morning sickness. Families of children who had birth abnormalities after their mothers used Zofran while pregnant have filed a lawsuit against Zofran’s original marketers, alleging that the company sold the medicine to pregnant women without FDA permission and neglected to warn about the drug’s possible dangers.
Zostavax/Shingrix
Originally, 22 persons were named in the shingles vaccination case. Since then, the number of litigants has risen to nearly 1,800. The shingles vaccination was allegedly dangerous to use, according to these claims. Patients developed the shingles virus or zoster-related injuries as a result of receiving the Zostavax or Shingrix vaccination. The same thing that was supposed to safeguard these plaintiffs ended up causing them damage.
Tepezza
Tepezza is an IV infusion drug approved by the FDA to treat thyroid eye disease (TED). It has been linked to very serious hearing problems, including tinnitus, partial or permanent hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss, increased sound sensitivity, and more. If you have suffered hearing loss from Tepezza, contact a Tepezza lawyer as soon as possible to file a claim.
Experienced Houston Drug Injury Lawyers
If you or a loved one was injured or you think you may have been injured by taking a pharmaceutical drug, contact our Houston drug injury lawyers for a free and confidential case evaluation. Call our Houston office at 713-622-7271 or fill out the contact form below!
There is a never a fee unless we recover on your behalf.