Could a prescription drug be a defective product?
You expect your drugs to solve your illnesses, or at least have the potential to do so. However, defective prescription medication is worse than ineffective: it does not have the ability in the first place to give you a chance at a healthier life. However, determining whether a drug might be defective by the definition of the Louisiana courts is not always as simple as you might expect.
While the effects of a defective medicine may initially seem to be your doctor’s fault, or perhaps your pharmacist’s, doctors often prescribe your treatments with trust in the manufacturer’s diligence. In fact, there is usually an involved discovery process before the possibility of bad medicine becomes apparent.
If you were to have an unexpectedly severe problem when a drug was involved, you would probably have to start investigating the incident. The lack of clarity tends to come from the fact that many parties are likely to be involved with your medical treatment:
- Pharmacy technicians and staff
- Drug makers
- Nurses and hospital attendants
- Psychiatrists, physicians and others who write prescriptions
- Hospital pharmaceutical-procurement staff
While you would probably not be able to count on federal agencies to perform your investigations, they might support you during the process with information and regulatory oversight. For example, the Food and Drug Administration is responsible for the safety of many of the nations’ prescription medicines, over-the-counter treatments and medical devices, according to the FDA website.
Sometimes, you might start out with a medical malpractice case against a doctor only to eventually discover that the most likely culprit is a faulty pharmaceutical product. Luckily, if you were to start your initial medical malpractice case within a reasonable timeframe, you might be able to take advantage of a special dispensation within the statute of limitations to pursue your product liability case.