Dangerous medications can result in serious life-threatening side effects and symptoms. Drug recalls happen each year to protect people from these defective medications. Knowing when you can take legal action against a pharmaceutical company can be helpful for recovering your financial losses if you're injured. All you have to do is ask a Kansas City dangerous drug lawyer what your options are.
Dangerous Medication Recalls
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates what medications arrive on store shelves and which medications are removed from shelves. FDA recalls involve the removal of dangerous medications from store shelves to reduce further damage. There are three different levels of medication recalls that are broken down into Class I, Class II, and Class III.
Class I. Class I medication recalls involve dangerous medications that can cause serious side effects or death.
Class II. Medications that may result in short-term health problems are classified in the middle as Class II recalls. At this level, the defective medication may also come with a slight threat to a person’s health.
Class III. The lowest-risk medications fall into Class III recalls, where the chances of negative health effects are at their lowest. Defective medications in this category are taken off store shelves more for marketing defects than the actual threat of harm to consumers. These medications usually have defective labels with inaccurate information or instructions.
The FDA is expected to identify defective medications and remove them from public consumption. However, this process may not always happen right away. Recalls often happen after consumers have already suffered the negative effects of the dangerous medication. If this happened to you, you might be able to sue.
How to Sue for a Dangerous Medication
Suing for a dangerous medication may involve filing a product liability lawsuit. Filing a product liability lawsuit involves proving a defect in the medication and the harm you suffered. There are three different types of product defects you can prove:
- Manufacturing defects
- Design defects
- Marketing defects
Manufacturing defects happen during the actual manufacturing of the individual product in the factory. For medications, this could mean accidental contamination or incorrect dosages. These defects tend to only affect one product at a time.
Design defects exist in the inherent blueprint of the product. When applied to medications, this could mean a dangerous ingredient or adverse side effects that exist in every released form of that medication. These are the types of defects that lead to massive recalls.
Marketing defects with medications tend to involve label errors or a failure to warn consumers. A lack of warning labels for allergic reactions, negative side effects, and what medications to not mix with the medication being taken are common examples. Consider contacting a Kansas City product liability lawyer to explore steps for suing.