Reports made to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) show that the number of serious injuries and deaths caused by over-the-counter medicine and prescription drugs grew significantly between 1998 and 2005.
Out of the 467,809 drug-related injuries and fatalities, nearly half of these cases could be attributed to 51 drugs. Drugs that affect the immune system, and painkillers, such as oxycodone, reportedly caused a lot of the deaths. The drugs most frequently linked to serious complications that weren’t fatal included Vioxx, Paxil, Remicade, and insulin.
The death toll from using prescription and over-the-counter drugs was three times higher in 2005 than in 1998:
• In 2005, over 15,000 people died because of reactions to drugs.
• 5,519 people died from using prescription and over-the-counter drugs in 1998.
• In 2005, 89,482 injury cases were caused by serious side effects from drug treatment.
• There were 34,966 reported injury cases caused by side effects in 1998.
• There are at least 500 injury cases involving Estrogen every year.
• More women were affected by pharmaceutical drugs than men.
This analysis can be read in the latest issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
If you or someone you love has become seriously ill while using a prescription drug or over-the-counter medication, you should speak with a personal injury lawyer right away.
It can be very hard to prove that an illness, serious injury, or wrongful death was caused by a pharmaceutical drug. An experienced personal injury attorney will know how to investigate and prove your products liability case.
Although the FDA is supposed to prevent drugs that are not safe from entering the marketplace, sometimes, the problems with a drug are not discovered until after people have started to get sick or die. Illness, injury, or death caused by a defective drug can be grounds for a products liability claim or lawsuit against the drug manufacturer and/or distributor.
Even if a drug has been pulled off the shelf, you could still be entitled to compensation via pharmaceutical litigation if you are an injury victim.
Here is a list of some other drugs that have been the subject of drug litigation cases:
• Ephedra • Fen-Phen • Prempro • Accutane • Serzone
Analysis: Deaths from drug reactions up, Boston.com/AP, September 11, 2007
Reports of Drug Side Effects Rise, U.S. Study Finds, Bloomberg.com, September 10, 2007
Related Web Resources:
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Archives of Internal Medicine
In Massachusetts, the personal injury law firm of Altman & Altman LLP represents clients that have been seriously injured from taking pharmaceutical drugs. We also represent clients in every other area of personal injury law. Contact us online today to speak with one of our personal injury attorneys.