Most people are well aware that there are individuals that receive more harm than good when they choose to go to a doctor. Most medical tragedies are due to simple bad luck, but a few are due to the malpractice of the medical professionals handling a case. What most people don’t consider is the fact that a person can have a doctor that does their job perfectly and still succumb to injuries and even death due to pharmaceutical drugs. These drugs can cause a number of problems, and there is a list of people that could be responsible for these injuries.

Reasons for Injuries

There are a number of injuries a person can sustain due to pharmaceutical errors. These injuries can include allergic reactions, new or worsening serious conditions and even death. There are several ways in which these injuries could occur. One of the main causes of pharmaceutical injuries occurs when a patient is prescribed a drug that has serious interactions with other medications that they are currently on.

Another form of pharmaceutical injury takes place when a pharmacist accidentally gives a medicine that wasn’t prescribed by the doctor or provides the correct medication but the incorrect dosage. There are even people who are given medications exactly as prescribed by their doctor but still suffer adverse reactions due to the drug manufacturer not fully disclosing or knowing all of the potential side effects. Any of these scenarios can spell distress for a patient.

Who Caused the Injury?

There are times when absolutely no one is at fault for pharmaceutical injuries. Many drugs have side effects listed, and patients cannot blame anyone if they know these side effects are a possibility before they start taking the drug. According to the experts at Doyle Raizner, there are several cases, however, when an individual’s or corporation’s negligence may be at fault.

Cases where a person is prescribed two medications that negatively interact with each other would usually have their doctor to blame. This is only, of course, if the doctor should’ve known that the patient was on a medication that would adversely react with one that they prescribed. Pharmacies have been able to avoid liability more and more by stating that they do not know the medical history of a patient and do not interfere with the doctor patient relationship.

Pharmacies that incorrectly fill a prescription, either through the drug itself or the dosage, would obviously be at fault if a person sustained an injury due to the mistake. When a person experiences adverse reactions that were not reported as a potential side effect by the drug manufacturer, however, then that manufacturer is likely at fault.

It is the drug company’s job to provide doctors with all possible side effect information so that physicians and patients can make informed decisions on the drugs. Accutane manufacturers, for instance, warned that people with pre-existing bowel problems shouldn’t take the drug. They failed, however, to warn that Accutane could lead to these conditions. Because Accutane’s manufacturer didn’t give proper warning of these potential side effects, they’ve been successfully sued by several individuals.

Sustaining a pharmaceutical injury is a serious event. The adverse reactions to these drugs can cause long term damage and even death. It is imperative to seek help from a personal injury attorney due to the fact that they have knowledge on how to handle these cases properly. A pharmaceutical negligence case can drag on for years and require work that the layperson simply doesn’t have the knowledge to accomplish. Anyone who tries to take on chain pharmacies, medical institutions or big drug companies on their own will quickly learn that they’re no match for the team of lawyers these entities often have.

Pharmaceutical injuries can be detrimental to a person and their family. The sheer influx of class action lawsuit commercials against drug manufacturers should show people that drugs which are meant to help individuals can often cause serious problems. These problems can be the fault of a pharmacy, doctor or even the drug manufacturer itself. If someone sustained an injury due to the negligence of any of these parties, it is important that they get a personal injury lawyer, because they never know how long-term these adverse effects may be.

Katie Hewatt is a legal researcher and contributing author for www.doyleraizner.com, a law firm that specializes in personal injury cases including aviation accidents, cruise ship injuries, trucking accidents, bus accidents, and pharmaceutical injuries. The attorneys at Doyle Raizner, have worked for defense firms and have experience defending lawsuits for pharmaceutical companies so when you hire Doyle Raizner, you will get attorneys that have been on both sides of the fence.