Every day in America people are injured or even killed by the side effects of being prescribed dangerous drugs. Filing lawsuits against the companies that sell the products is the only course of action that many people adversely affected by these drugs have.
Pharmaceutical Companies make astronomical profits off of the drugs that they put onto the market. This large sum of money allows them to move quickly from product to product by moving one product off of the market and then another one on the market. For instance, from 2004 to 2008, Pfizer, one major player in the pharmaceutical industry, made $245 billion. During that same time period another large pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly, made $36 billion from Zyperexa which is only one drug that they market.
Studies reveal that between 2004 and 2010, drug companies were forced to pay out $7 billion in fines, penalties and lawsuits — a small drop in the bucket when compared with their astronomical profits. Do they care that every single day people are seriously injured or killed by dangerous prescription drugs?
Since the year of 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved on average, 24 new drugs per year. These approvals include many drugs that pose dangerous health risks and horrible long-term side effects.
The FDA responds to adverse reactions to drugs in a variety of ways, such as meetings, reports, reviews, demands for more trials, letters to doctors, added warnings to labels, and requirements that patients enroll in special programs for drugs. The FDA’s action can take years — something patients may not have.
Drug companies propel this problem by failing to report negative results to the FDA or to accurately study side effects. Sometimes they only study a small amount of people which many times yields them the positive results that they seek.
Consumers who have been injured by a prescription drug often take action by filing a lawsuit against these companies to help cover exorbitant medical bills and pain and suffering. Because these Pharmaceutical Companies have the revenue that they do, they are able to retain the best of counsel available to defend them. It is imperative that when a person is in court that they have an attorney with them who understands the tactics that they will be up against.
Among the most dangerous drugs on the market are:
- Diabetes drugs: Avandia – GlaxoSmithKline, and Actos – Takeda Pharmaceuticals
- Antidepressants: Paxil – GlaxoSmithKline, Prozac – Eli Lilly, Effexor – Wyeth, Zoloft – Pfizer and Lexapro – Forest Laboratories
- Mood stabilizer: Depakote – Abbott Laboratories
- Birth control pills: Yaz and Yasmin – Bayer
- Acne medication: Accutane – Roche
- Blood thinners: Pradaxa – Boehringer Ingelheim and Xarelto – Janssen Pharmaceutica
- Osteoporosis treatment: Fosamax – Merck
- Dialysis medication: GranuFlo and NaturaLyte – Fresenius Medical Care (FMC)
- Hair loss pill: Propecia – Merck
These drugs come with side effects that range from birth defects, liver damage, suicidal behavior, blood clots, bladder cancer, Crohn’s disease, heart attacks, strokes, uncontrollable bleeding and heart failure.
Learn more about your rights and how you can hold the pharmaceutical company responsible if you or a loved one has suffered from the effects of these frightening drugs.
The Parrish Law Firm Defective Drug Attorney works with Northern Virginia citizens who have suffered from the devastating effects of dangerous drugs and are looking for fair compensation for their suffering. Contact us today for a free case consultation, or call us at 703-906-4229.
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A representative of the Parrish Law Firm, PLLC researched and wrote this article with Mr. Parrish’s consent. If you have any questions regarding the legal implications of what you have just read, please send us your question by clicking here so we can have our attorney review it.
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