Defective Drug & Pharmaceutical Litigation Lawyer

Defective drugs and over-the-counter medications can cause life-changing side effects. Large pharmaceutical companies often rush new drugs into the marketplace. Some medications are sold despite lack of proper testing or a comprehensive analysis of potential side effects. In some cases, it is discovered that drug companies knew of possible adverse reactions that they did not disclose to the public. As drug manufacturers rake in profits, the consumers are left with serious medical conditions with which they may have to deal for the rest of their lives. When drug companies manufacture and distribute dangerous products, it is important that they are held responsible for their wrongdoing.

Many drugs are allowed in the marketplace despite having known, inherent dangers. Some may even be defective drugs. Drugs that have negative consequences that outweigh their effectiveness are often recalled. In the year 2009, the FDA reported over 1,742 drug recalls. A significant number of those recalls were related to manufacturing lapses, a low quality of raw materials, defective labeling and contamination.

All drugs have the potential to cause harm, but certain popular medications are known for adverse side effects and negative consequences. Some of the most dangerous drugs that have been recently involved in pharmaceutical litigation include:

• Accutane: It has long been known that this powerful acne medication can cause liver damage and birth defects, but it has only become apparent in recent years that teenagers on Accutane can suffer psychiatric distress, depression and suicidal thoughts.
• Talcum Powder: Talcum Powder is often used as baby powder to prevent rashes and to get rid of moisture and friction in the genital area. However, recent evidence shows that continued use of talcum powder over 4 years can significantly increase one's risk of ovarian cancer. Johnson & Johnson has hundreds of cases brought against them for allowing their dangerous products to continue to be sold.
• Xarelto: A blood thinner used to prevent blood clots in the lungs and to prevent strokes. It has several other uses but the side effects have been linked to uncontrollable bleeding causing death in some patients. Once major internal hemorrhaging begins, there is no known cure to fix it, and the bleeding can be fatal.
• Zofran: An anti nausea medication that was illegally marketed off label to pregnant women, who gave birth to deformed babies.
• Low Testosterone Therapy: Low Testosterone Therapy is administered either by pill or injection, and is used to increase testosterone levels in men to treat symptoms such as depressions, decreased muscle mass, low sex drive, and erectile dysfunction. These treatments however come with a high risk of heart attack, stroke, and blood clots, despite being marketed as safe.
• Cipro: Cipro (Ciprofloxacin), along with others in the same class of antibiotics - fluoroquinolones, is often used to treat respiratory and urinary tract infections. However, use of fluoroquinolones has been accompanied by an increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture, especially in those who are over 60 or who already have tendon inflammation. The likelihood increases if the patient is on concomitant steroid therapy or has received an organ transplant. The huge influx of tendon rupture reports after taking Cipro pushed the FDA to demand that all fluoroquinolones carry "black box warning" on the packaging about the dangers of tendon ruptures while taking the medicine.
• Levaquin: Levaquin, like Ciprofloxacin, is another drug in the fluoroquinolones family. Levaquin also increases the risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture, especially in the achilles tendon. Levaquin has also led to a disorder called "Stevens-Johnson Syndrome," a skin disorder that originally starts with flu-like symptoms, but develops into rashes and blisters when cell death leads to the separation of the epidermis and the dermis skin layers.
• Plavix: Plavix prevents the platelets in the blood from clotting and is usually prescribed to patients who have had a recent heart attack or stroke, to prevent their blood from coagulating and causing more health issues. Unfortunately, taking Plavix comes with an increased risk of gastrointestinal and cerebral hemorrhaging, both of which can be life threatening. Plavix also increases the risk of Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, a disorder where microscopic blood clots form and damage internal organs, often leading to neurological symptoms and kidney failure at the worst.
• Reglan: Reglan (Metoclopramide) is prescribed to treat heartburn when other heartburn medications haven't worked. It does this by increasing muscle contractions in the digestive tract, which then helps the stomach empty into the intestines, thereby preventing stomach acid from regurgitating into the esophagus. Reglan also has a potential side effect of causing Tadrive Dyskinesia disorder - a neurological disorder that causes repetitive involuntary movements like eye twitching or sticking the tongue out, as well as rapid arm or leg movement. In some cases, these symptoms persist indefinitely after Reglan use is discontinued.
• Zometa: Zometa is a biophosphonate - a class of drug used to treat both high levels of calcium in the blood usually caused by cancer, and osteoperosis for postmenopausal women. Zometa and other Biophosphonates also has a high number of potential dangerous side-effects, including Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (Dead Jaw Syndrome), femur fractures, esophageal cancer, and atrial fibrillation.