Pharmaceutical Litigation

Texas Defective Drug & Pharmaceutical Recall Lawyer

On March 4, 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled against the pharmaceutical industry in Wyeth v. Levine, confirming that consumers may hold pharmaceutical manufacturers accountable for personal injuries when the company fails to warn of the dangers associated with its drugs. See below for more information about Wyeth v. Levine, including a copy of the court’s opinion.

Full Disclosure & Access to Safe Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs

As a consumer, you not only deserve access to prescription and over-the-counter drugs that are safe, but you’re also entitled to full disclosure from the drug’s manufacturer regarding the drug’s potential risks and side effects. Unfortunately, drug manufacturers sometimes place profits over safety, and, as a result, fail in their duty to adequately test their products and provide needed information regarding the drug’s potential side effects and dangers. In other cases, pharmaceutical manufacturers may even hide unfavorable research data on purpose in order to keep it out of the public eye.

Injured by a dangerous drug or medication error?

Speak to a Houston defective drug and injury lawyer in a free consultation. Call the toll-free number or contact us online.

Attorney Ryan Zehl and his team have successfully handled numerous defective drug and medical device cases and are currently representing hundreds of plaintiffs against some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, including GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer. In fact, the Defective Drug Recall Litigation Team is currently preparing for two simultaneous trial settings in October against none other than GlaxoSmithKline over devastating heart defects linked to first-trimester ingestion of its blockbuster SSRI Paxil.

Three Types of Pharmaceutical Liability

These are the three most common liability theories used to hold pharmaceutical manufacturers accountable:

• Defective design. If a drug is defectively designed, it may be unsafe regardless of how it is used.
• Defective manufacturing. Unlike defective design where all the products are dangerous, a defect in the manufacturing process may only affect certain units. Only certain pills and other doses of a defectively manufactured drug are dangerous due to errors in manufacturing.
• Failure to warn: These claims are the most common pharmaceutical claims. The plaintiff in a failure to warn case is alleging that the manufacturer failed to fully and adequately warn him of the defects or risks associated with taking the drug.

Our law firm regularly handles drug recall, wrongful death, and pharmacy error cases against drug companies and pharmacies. These companies can be liable for damages under state and federal law if they manufacture dangerous drugs, fail to disclose relevant information, or fail to perform adequate testing.

Common drugs that have been associated with adverse effects include:

• Vioxx
• Ortho Evra
• Avandia
• Zoloft
• Paxil
• Heparin
• Trasylol
• Digitek

Defective Drug Litigation Before The U.S. Supreme Court: Wyeth v. Levine

On March 4, 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled against the pharmaceutical industry and upheld a consumer’s right to hold drug manufacturers responsible for failing to warn of the dangerous side effects of their products. The decision, a major victory for consumers, confirms that drug companies must not place profits over a patient’s safety by failing to fully disclose the side effects associated with their products.

Wyeth, a drug manufacturer and the defendant in the case, argued that because the FDA approved the warning label on their product, the plaintiff, Mrs. Levine, was barred from bringing a lawsuit after she had to have her arm amputated from using one of their products. This position-which gained momentum among drug manufacturers during the Bush administration-was politically motivated, and in direct conflict with the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) position for the past 20 years: that state lawsuits complement the FDA’s approval process and help ensure that drugs are safe and effective.

For the first time in its history, the New England Journal of Medicine, one of the most prestigious and preeminent sources for medical information, wrote a brief to the United States Supreme Court urging it to reject the arguments presented by the FDA and drug companies, and preserve the consumer’s right to hold drug companies accountable when they hide the dangers of their products. The court agreed with the New England Journal of Medicine, overruling a number of lower courts that held that a plaintiff was barred from bringing a lawsuit against a drug manufacturer if the FDA previously approved the drug’s warning label.

You may review the Supreme Court’s opinion in Wyeth v. Levine, as well as the briefs that were submitted by the lawyers, by clicking below:

• Wyeth Opinion
• Petitioner’s Brief
• Respondent’s Brief
• Petitioner’s Response
• Amicus Brief by New England Journal of Medicine

Contact Our Experienced Pharmaceutical and Defective Drug Lawyers at 1-888-603-3636 or by Clicking Here

We offer a free initial consultation and are available for evening and weekend appointments. Because we exclusively work on a contingency-fee basis, you pay nothing if we don’t recover damages in your medication error case.