Medications are a lifesaver for many, used every day to treat everything from minor conditions such as seasonal allergies to very serious sicknesses such as cancer. People take these medications with the hopes that they will have a positive effect—and most of the time, they do.
However, there are instances in which medications can actually harm a patient even further. In those cases, a Chicago dangerous drugs lawyer could help those patients claim compensation for their injuries. If you suffered from negative or unlisted side effects of a prescribed medicine, contact a dedicated personal injury attorney to start exploring your options for recovery.
Negligence in Dangerous Drugs Lawsuits
Like most personal injury lawsuits, dangerous drug lawsuits are typically based on the legal concept of negligence. Negligence is defined in Chicago courts as a failure to take the reasonable care needed to keep people safe.
In the context of dangerous drugs, this negligence may occur during either the manufacturing or marketing phase of releasing the drug to the public. A manufacturing defect could include creating a drug that has very dangerous side effects. A marketing defect may be that the pharmaceutical company failed to warn the public about the possible side effects.
Either of these defects may be claimed in a lawsuit by individuals who were hurt by dangerous drugs and would like to seek compensation for their injuries. A dangerous drugs lawyer in Chicago could work to identify how the pharmaceutical company was negligent and determine whether any other parties could also be held liable.
Liable Parties in Dangerous Drug Lawsuits
The drug distribution chain is a long one, and there are many different parties involved in releasing a drug to the public. While in many situations the manufacturer of a drug is primarily responsible for any injuries that drug causes to patients, that is not always the case.
The labs that test the drugs, sales representatives for the pharmaceutical company, and prescribing doctors, pharmacies, and hospitals are just a few of the entities that could potentially be held liable in a Chicago dangerous drug case. Accordingly, these individuals or companies may all be named in a dangerous drug lawsuit depending on the circumstances of the case.
How Dangerous Drug Lawsuits are Different than Personal Injury Cases
In many personal injury cases, the facts are quite straightforward. If someone falls in a grocery store because a spill was not cleaned up, for example, it is often fairly clear that the grocery store management was responsible for not cleaning up the spill.
In dangerous drug cases, though, the facts are not always so clear. It can be difficult to prove that one drug directly caused the injury, particularly if the person filing the lawsuit is taking several different medications at the time. Furthermore, proving the medical effects of a drug often requires a great deal of resources and access to experts in the field, to which individual plaintiffs may not have access.
On top of all that, large pharmaceutical companies and hospital boards usually have their own legal experts fighting to keep them from paying compensation. These legal teams can also be difficult for individuals to fight on their own, but a seasoned dangerous drugs lawyer in Chicago could help clients deal with these parties effectively.
Seek Compensation with a Chicago Dangerous Drugs Attorney’s Help
When dangerous drugs cause someone to suffer injury, that person may be entitled to receive compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. You could give yourself the best chance of receiving this compensation by speaking to a Chicago dangerous drugs lawyer as soon as possible.
Dangerous drug lawsuits are some of the most complicated cases in personal injury law and are very difficult for individuals to fight and win on their own. If you were injured by a dangerous drug, call today to speak with a qualified attorney and get the professional assistance you deserve.