Were you or a loved one harmed after taking a defective or dangerous drug in Boston, MA? You may be entitled to financial compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. An experienced Boston defective drugs attorney at Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP can fight to maximize your financial award.For more than a decade, our legal team has been proud to offer high-quality legal representation to injured clients across Boston. We’ve recovered tens of millions of dollars on behalf of those clients through the years.
We offer a free consultation. If you were injured, don’t hesitate to reach out to our law offices in Boston, Massachusetts, at (774)-214-2515 to speak with a lawyer who can help today.
How Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP, Can Help With a Defective Drugs Claim in Boston
Medications are supposed to make our lives better. Advances in technology have gone a long way toward treating disease and increasing our quality of life. Unfortunately, dangerous drugs are often sold before their risks are fully understood. In other cases, the drug company might rush the product through the approval process or downplay the potential side effects to increase their own profits.
Regardless of the circumstances, you deserve to recover full compensation if you were the victim. Don’t expect the drug company to stand up and take responsibility.
Defective drug cases are complex. When you file a claim for compensation, you’ll be facing off against a major corporation, insurance companies, and teams of defense lawyers. Their goal? To minimize your financial recovery.
You deserve an experienced Boston personal injury attorney to stand up for your legal rights. When you hire Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP, our team will:
- Identify the defect that caused you harm
- Determine whether others suffered similar side effects
- Hire experts in science, medicine, and other specialties to back up your claim
- Negotiate with the insurance company to maximize your compensation award
Were you or a family member hurt because of a dangerous drug? Our Boston personal injury attorneys have years of experience helping clients like you. Just call to schedule a free case evaluation today.
How Often Are Defective Drugs Sold in Boston?
Technically, prescription and over-the-counter drugs are subject to rigorous testing and screening requirements. The Food and Drug Administration’s approval process is designed to identify any side effects and dangers associated with the drug.
The steps to the approval process should work something like this:
- The drug company performs lab tests and tests on animals to determine how the drug might work when used by humans
- The drug company performs a series of trials in people to determine whether the drug is safe and provides health benefits
- The FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) reviews the evidence to evaluate the health benefits of the drug and whether it’s safe to use in people
Notably, the government doesn’t actually perform any independent tests of its own.
Unfortunately, many drugs are rushed through the FDA approval process. In other cases, dangerous side effects might only become known after the drug has already been on the market for years. By that time, consumers may have already suffered irreversible harm.
Technically, this isn’t illegal. However, like any other product manufacturer, pharmaceutical companies can be held liable when consumers are harmed by a defective drug.
What Is My Boston Defective Drugs Case Worth?
Some defective drugs can cause permanent damage. Before you rush to accept a settlement offer, it’s important to know what your injury claim is worth. Our lawyers at Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP, can help.
Every client’s case is different. To estimate the value of your case, we’ll carefully evaluate your medical records and the circumstances.
Typically, the value of your case hinges on the severity of the harm you’ve suffered. Other related factors include:
- The cost of your medical care and your out-of-pocket expenses
- Your anticipated future need for medical treatment
- Whether you’ve suffered permanent damage
- How the drug’s side effects have impacted your day-to-day life and career
- Your pain and suffering
Are you wondering how someone can put a price tag on your health? You aren’t alone. Unfortunately, recovering financial compensation is the only way to get justice and hold big drug companies liable for the harm they’ve caused.
Do you need more information before moving forward? Call today for a free consultation.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Victims of Defective Drugs?
Often, drug companies and the FDA issue recalls only after a drug has already caused significant damage. Manufacturers can be held liable for defective drugs even if they were unaware of the drug’s dangerous properties.
If you were hurt, you deserve compensation for all of your losses–both financial and non-financial.
Economic damages reimburse you for things like:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning potential
- Physical therapy
- Rehabilitation
- Any other out-of-pocket expenses related to the harm you’ve suffered
Non-economic damages, on the other hand, provide compensation for:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Diminished quality of life
- Anxiety, depression, and PTSD
- Loss of consortium
- Any other personal, subjective losses
When a defective drug has caused widespread harm, you may even be entitled to recover compensation from a class-action lawsuit settlement.
We’ll Fight To Recover Compensation for All Injuries Caused by Defective Drugs
Defective drugs can cause serious long-term consequences. Those side effects can include:
- Kidney failure
- Liver failure
- Stroke
- Seizure disorders
- Heart attacks
- Blood clots
- Brain damage
- Addiction
- Mental illness
- Cancer
- Coma
- Vision loss
- Wrongful death
Some of these consequences can lead to a reduced life expectancy and can’t be reversed. Of course, victims often suffer from anxiety and depression–and the need for much more painful, expensive medical treatment.
We Handle All Types of Defective Drug Cases in Boston
Dangerous drugs can cause significant damage whether you purchased a defective drug over-the-counter or a doctor prescribed the drug.
At Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP, we handle all types of defective drug claims in Boston, including those involving:
- Proton pump inhibitors, including Nexium and Prilosec
- Abilify
- Zoloft
- Prozac
- Lexapro
- Lipitor
- Xanax
- Opioids
- Meridia
- Warfarin
- Risperdal
- Talcum powder
If you were harmed because of a defective drug, you deserve compensation for your losses. Call our law firm today to schedule a free case review with an experienced Boston defective drugs lawyer. We’ll do everything possible to recover the fair compensation you deserve.
Do I Have To Prove Negligence if I Was Harmed by a Defective Drug in Massachusetts?
Big Pharma makes billions of dollars selling drugs in the United States. While those drugs aren’t always perfect, these companies have a duty to make sure the drugs they sell are as safe as possible. Like any other product manufacturer, they can be held strictly liable for putting a defective drug on the market for consumer use.
In other words, you don’t always have to prove negligence to recover damages in a defective drugs case. Instead, you’ll have to prove that you were hurt because of a defect in the drug.
Defects fall into three primary categories under Massachusetts product liability laws: manufacturing defects, design defects, and marketing defects.
Manufacturing Defects
Maybe the intended chemical composition of the drug was safe. However, if something went wrong during the manufacturing process, a safe drug can quickly become dangerous.
For example, if the drug company used the wrong chemical at any stage in the manufacturing process, the drug you actually used could have deadly side effects. In other cases, an otherwise safe drug can be contaminated by something that occurs while the drug is being made.
Design Defects
Sometimes a drug is dangerous even if it’s manufactured according to specifications. Drug companies can be held liable for the harm caused if you can show:
- The drug was unreasonably dangerous
- There was an alternative design that could have made the drug safer or eliminated certain risks
- In a cost-benefit analysis, the safety benefits of using the alternative design outweighed any additional costs
In other words, drug manufacturers have to make their drugs as safe as possible. If a differently designed drug could have provided the same health benefits and eliminated certain risks, the drug company should use that design.
Manufacturing Defects
Drug companies can’t be expected to eliminate every single potential complication and side effect. Sometimes, the benefits simply outweigh the risks–even if using the drug could have dangerous side effects.
However, drug companies do have a duty to warn you about any known dangers. You may have a valid claim against a company for failure to warn about a drug’s side effects.
How Long Do I Have To File a Defective Drugs Lawsuit in Massachusetts?
You’ll only have three years to file a defective drugs lawsuit under the Massachusetts statute of limitations. That three-year clock starts to run on the date that you knew, or reasonably should have known, that you were harmed by a dangerous or defective drug.
Contact a Boston Defective Drugs Attorney for a Free Consultation
Did a prescription drug or medication cause you more harm than good? You may be entitled to financial compensation. Call a Boston defective drugs attorney at Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP, for a free consultation to learn more.
We represent clients in Boston and the surrounding localities, Bristol County, Newton, Somerville, and Fall River.
