Drug Can Become Defective at Any Stage

The federal government has a system that is supposed to ensure that prescription drugs do not hit the market until they are proven safe and effective. While regulators like the Food and Drug Administration have no doubt saved countless American lives, the system is not perfect. Defective drugs still make it to hospitals and pharmacies sometimes.

Users count on these medications to keep them alive or improve their quality of life. But when they receive a dangerously defective drug, their health and lives are put at risk. After being harmed by a defective medication, victims and their families have the right to seek compensation from the business or businesses that are negligently responsible.

Three Forms of Defective Product Negligence

Negligence can happen at virtually any point in the life cycle of a new medication:

• Development

• Manufacturing

• Labeling

For example, mistakes in the creation phase could lead to a formula that puts users at unreasonable risk of serious side effects. Or the testing could yield inaccurate data because of a flaw in the process. Even if the pharmaceutical company developed the drug using the required level of due care, an error in manufacturing could make change its properties and make it unsafe. Finally, failure to properly label the drug to warn users about possible side effects and not to mix it with certain other medications can expose users to complications.

The point is, negligence at any stage of the development, manufacturing or marketing of a medication can lead to preventable bad outcomes for patients. Product liability litigation can be highly complex, but it is often the best way for victims of defective drugs to seek compensation and justice.