How to Find the Best Dangerous Drugs Lawyers in Pittsburgh, PA

According to WebMD, around 4.5 billion prescriptions get filled each year in the United States. Of the 4.5 billion prescriptions, more than 1.3 million Americans experience an adverse reaction that requires emergency care. Nearly 150,000 Americans die each year because of the negative side effects associated with taking prescription drugs. 

If a drug manufacturer produced a drug that harmed you or a loved one, you might be able to hold the company legally liable for causing your harm. The key is to know how to find the best dangerous drug lawyers in Pittsburgh, PA to determine whether you have a strong enough case to go to trial.

Proving negligence helps strengthen your case against a drug manufacturer. However, it is a common misunderstanding that you need to prove negligence to win a civil lawsuit. Cases that involve dangerous drugs are considered product liability cases, which means a drug manufacturer can be held legally liable even if the company did not commit one or more acts of negligence. An example of an act of negligence for a dangerous drug case involves a company covering up the negative results of safety and efficacy tests.

The bottom line is drug manufacturers have a duty to produce safe products for consumers. Failing to do so means they can be held legally liable for causing customers harm regardless of the reason why.

You have to demonstrate that a prescription or over-the-counter drug caused you harm. Unless you submit persuasive evidence, you can expect your lawsuit to go the defendant’s way. Evidence comes in the form of medical bills, copies of diagnostic tests, and the medical records that describe your treatments. A statement issued by your physician that backs your claim of the harm caused by a dangerous drug is also helpful for building a convincing case.

Remember that for this step, you are simply proving a certain drug caused you harm. You do not at this point need to show why it hurt you.

Yes, you can expect to prove that you used the prescription or over-the-counter medication correctly. Defense attorneys in product liability cases often try to place the blame for a personal injury on the shoulders of the plaintiff. During the discovery phase when both parties exchange information, you will explain that you took the drug as prescribed on the label, as well as took the right doses and you did not take the drug with any other medicinal substances.

Drug manufacturers are permitted to sell prescription drugs that can generate side effects if they clearly describe the possible side effect on the label attached to a certain prescription or over-the-counter medication. If a drug manufacturer did not present an adequate warning about the possible adverse side effects of a drug, your personal injury attorney will claim the lack of an adequate warning prevented you from making an informed decision concerning the purchase of the drug in question.

The lack of an appropriate warning can include an omission of side effects, as well as a warning presented in hard-to-read print or placed in a hard-to-locate spot on the bottle.

Like most states, Pennsylvania has established a deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit. You have two years from the date when a prescription or over-the-counter drug caused you harm to file a civil lawsuit. If you fail to follow the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit in Pennsylvania, you can expect the lawyer representing the defendant to notify the court about your inaction. The court will then dismiss your personal injury lawsuit.

There is one exception to the two-year statute of limitation and it concerns the date when the clock starts ticking towards the filing deadline. If a dangerous drug defect is not discovered at the time of injury because of fraudulent concealment, then the clock does not start ticking on the statute of limitation until the point when a reasonable person should have discovered the defect of the dangerous drug. One example of fraudulent concealment is when a surgeon knowingly implants a faulty medical device and conceals knowledge of the defective device from the patient.

Product liability lawsuits can produce substantial monetary damages, which fall under three categories. You have the right to seek special compensatory damages,  general compensatory damages, and punitive damages.

Special Compensatory Damages

Special compensatory damages are considered economic damages that pay for tangible expenses. Medical bills can pile up quickly after taking a drug that produces harmful side effects. Special compensatory damages cover the cost of diagnostic tests, treatment programs, and any rehabilitation required to get back to work. Speaking of work, if you left your job because of the dangerous side effects generated by a drug, you have the right to seek special compensatory damages to cover lost wages.

General Compensatory Damages

General compensatory damages are considered non-economic damages. The most common types of general compensatory damages cover mental anguish, loss of companionship, and pain and suffering. Because general compensatory damages do not come with a price tag, your experienced personal injury lawyer will push for the damages by proving you suffered from the mental and emotional distress caused by taking a dangerous drug.

Punitive Damages

Drug manufacturers have deep pockets, and judges and juries hearing dangerous drug cases understand this. The awarding of punitive damages sends a message to a drug manufacturer to be much more careful when screening potential medications. It also can send the message for a drug manufacturer to present the possible side effects of a drug in a way consumers can easily read. Punitive damages for dangerous drug cases can be high if a judge or jury discovers one or more acts of negligence.

The first attribute to look for when learning how to find the best dangerous drug lawyers in Pittsburgh, PA is to ensure an attorney specializes in handling dangerous drug cases. A lawyer might claim to specialize in product liability cases, but the legal counsel might not have worked on a dangerous drug case.

Second, you want to discover how long an attorney has practiced personal injury law that includes litigating dangerous drug cases. Experience is important if the experience includes winning a vast majority of cases. For more than 35 years, the personal injury lawyers at Morgan & Morgan have won favorable verdicts for our clients that file dangerous drug lawsuits.

Third, ask the questions, “where did you go to school” and “how did you learn to litigate dangerous drug cases.” Any lawyer on your shortlist must have a deep understanding of the possible negative side effects produced by the drug that harmed you.

Take Action on Your Dangerous Drug Case Today

One effective way to vet potential dangerous drug attorneys is to read the reviews left online by clients. An overwhelming number of positive reviews means the attorney or law firm under consideration has amassed an impressive record of helping clients win just compensation. At Morgan & Morgan, we are proud of the substantial number of positive reviews we have received online.

The sooner you initiate legal action against a drug manufacturer, the sooner you get a resolution of your case. Take action today by scheduling a free case evaluation with the highly-rated team of personal injury attorneys at Morgan & Morgan.