Raleigh Dangerous Drugs Accident Lawyer
When the medicine we take to get better makes us sick, we have the right to pursue compensation from negligent drug companies. A Raleigh dangerous drug accident lawyer can help us seek compensation from all responsible parties and repay the resulting drug injury costs.
Auger & Auger Accident and Injury Lawyers represents victims in Raleigh who have been hurt by the effects of a dangerous prescription drug or over-the-counter medicine. Our attorneys have experience with fighting against powerful corporations and insurers on behalf of our injured clients.
Legislation in North Carolina makes it difficult to prove that your injury is the fault of a drug manufacturer, but you do have the right to assert your claim. Working with an experienced dangerous drug accident lawyer in Raleigh can give you the resources and legal knowledge needed to investigate your claim, determine if your case meets the minimum standard of liability, and request a settlement for the maximum amount of compensation legally available.
Speak to an attorney for free when you call (919) 873-4955 or contact us online to schedule your free, confidential, no-obligation case review today.
What Qualifies as a Dangerous Drug?
Certain drugs have unacceptable side effects and risks that are not described on the label. Patients taking the drug can have serious medical consequences, including side effects that are sometimes permanent. The drug may have also caused a foreseeable interaction with another pharmaceutical product, resulting in a sudden and unexpected medical emergency.
Unfortunately, North Carolina laws protect drug manufacturers and pharmaceutical providers in a variety of ways.
First, the manufacturer of the drug may be protected from the harm their product causes if the injury victim cannot prove that the manufacturer, “unreasonably failed to adopt a safer, practical, feasible, and otherwise reasonable alternative design or formulation that could then have been reasonably adopted and that would have prevented or substantially reduced the risk of harm without substantially impairing the usefulness, practicality, or desirability of the product.” (§ 99B-6).
Secondly, the injury victim must be prepared to assert that they used the product as directed. They must also have been a “foreseeable” user of the drug, meaning that they were in the intended age demographic and patient group and that they did not have a rare condition or ailment that would have led to an allegedly unforeseeable adverse event.
Protections like these can make filing a claim for a dangerous drug accident intimidating and confusing. Hiring a dangerous drug accident lawyer in Raleigh means you have the legal resources to document all of the expected showings and the legal experience to fight for your right to compensation using the model of past successful cases.
Damages Available in a Raleigh Drug Injury Accident Case
Every dangerous drug accident is different, but there are a number of similar losses that can result. These losses are called “damages” during legal proceedings.
Someone who took a dangerous drug may have the following damages:
- Hospital bills resulting from the drug injury and not directly related to a pre-existing condition
- Replacement costs for an acceptable medication substitute
- Out-of-pocket costs for copays, medical devices, etc.
- Compensation for severe or permanent side effects, including partial disability, the loss of use of a bodily organ or system, and other adverse outcomes
- Pain and suffering
If the patient died from their drug’s side effects and the patient had not been adequately warned of the reasonable risks, then their surviving family members can file a wrongful death claim to seek compensation for:
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of lifetime income and benefits
- Loss of familial comfort and support
- Pain and suffering of surviving family members
Determining Fault After a Dangerous Drug Accident
Many different parties may be responsible for the harmful effects of a dangerous drug. Sometimes, multiple parties may be at fault for a single incident or adverse outcome.
Commonly, drug companies are expected to bear the brunt of legal and financial liability for the negative effects of their products. If the patient can prove that they used the item as directed, it was not altered in any way, there was no adequate warning, and that the product presented an unreasonable risk of likely harm, then they have a strong chance at holding a manufacturer liable.
A prescribing doctor may also be to blame for the adverse event. Doctors are expected to review their patient’s medical history and current medications thoroughly to prevent bad outcomes. If the doctor failed to exercise due diligence and made a decision to prescribe something that someone else following professional standards would not have, they may be liable for malpractice.
A pharmacist may be responsible for the effects of a drug if they made a mistake in filling a prescription or failed in their duty of care to advise a patient on the safest way to take a drug.
A retailer or distributor may also be liable if the drug were somehow altered to become unsafe during a supply chain. Some drugs can become contaminated because of mishandling, for instance, or because the product reached a temperature that altered its chemical makeup.
Your attorney will review all possibilities and examine the capacity in which each party could be considered partially or wholly liable. Your case may involve multiple claims against separate defendants. It may even involve multiple types of litigation, such as a class-action suit against a larger drug manufacturer and a direct civil action against a regional distributor.
Contact a Raleigh Drug Accident Lawyer Today
Auger & Auger Accident and Injury Lawyers wants to provide you with the strongest legal representation available. We stand up to insurers, medical provider groups, and big pharma companies in our efforts to get injured clients the maximum compensation legally allowed.
If you or a loved one have been hurt by a dangerous drug, you have nothing to lose by consulting an attorney during a free, no-obligation case review. Call (919) 873-4955 or contact us online today to schedule your free appointment.
