Pharmaceutical Malpractice.

Pharmaceutical malpractice (or pharmaceutical negligence) lawsuits are one of the fastest growing types of personal injury lawsuits, not just here in San Diego, but all over the globe. Pharmaceutical malpractice happens frequently, and the basis for pharmaceutical malpractice revolves around prescription medication.

As personal injury attorneys who handle pharmaceutical malpractice cases here in San Diego, we realize that people trust scientists with our health to produce new drugs that will increase our quality of living. These people also trust their doctors to make sure that the right prescription and the right dosage are assigned.

Pharmaceutical malpractice lawsuits are filed based on three things: (1) drug recalls, (2) product failure and (3) long-term side effects of prescription drugs. Improperly prescribed medication and improperly filled prescriptions can also play a part in pharmaceutical malpractice.

A recent, fast-growing development in pharmaceutical malpractice has been prescription drug recalls. Reasons for prescription drug recalls include:

Increased pressure for both profits and medical relief causes many drugs to be rushed to market
Long term side effects are difficult to determine
Conflict of interest: the testing that is done on some prescription drugs, is done by the same pharmaceutical companies which are “under the gun” to get those drugs on the market

There have been numerous prescription drug recalls for drugs that were supposedly safe but led to life altering and possibly fatal side effects in pharmaceutical malpractice lawsuits.

Fen-Phen: Fen-Phen had been approved for many years as an appetite suppressant in the management of obesity. Heart valve disease was a side effect because of the combination of drugs used in production.
Celebrex: Celebrex was an inhibitor approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. There are now concerns that Celebrex usage may increase the risk of heart attack or strokes in some people who take it.
Vioxx was a treatment for osteoarthritis, menstrual pain and management of acute pain in adults. There were concerns with Vioxx and Celebrex that their use might increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.

Sadly, in some pharmaceutical malpractice cases, a wrongful death must occur before a drug recall is made.

Improperly filled prescriptions involve a little bit more, and there are typically two different kinds of this type of pharmaceutical malpractice case. In both types, the doctor or the pharmacist can be held liable for one of the following:

A prescription that is prescribed contradicts another prescription that the patient is already taking.
A pharmacist gives an incorrect medication or an incorrect dosage of the correct medication.

When pharmaceutical malpractice mistakes are made, our San Diego firm’s pharmaceutical malpractice attorneys will make sure that the right people are held responsible for errors made that cause serious health problems or wrongful death to a loved one.

Please feel free to call us now at 1-800-655-6585 or click here for a FREE CONSULTATION with an experienced pharmaceutical malpractice attorney in San Diego. We have a large bilingual staff that can assist you in either English or Spanish.

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[caption id="attachment_21715" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Photo Credit: The San Diego Union Tribune"][/caption] Last week, we reported on a car accident in San Diego that resulted out of alleged teen street racing. In new developments, the 18-year-old driver charged with the death of the two teenagers involved in the street racing has pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter among four other charges according to reports at the San Diego Union Tribune. The news follows the earlier arrest of another 16-year-old driver that was taken into custody on similar charges. Just shortly after his arraignment, Michael Johnson, the 18-year-old driver of a Volvo S40, said, according to his attorney, that he is not the responsible party in the tragic San Diego accident fatalities that occurred April 4. Accident reports indicate that Johnson was returning from a spring break beach party in La Jolla when he was allegedly involved in a street racing contest with another teen driver – the unidentified 16-year-old driver of a Volkswagen Passat whose name has not been released since he is a minor. According to Deputy District Attorney Kristen Spieler, the two vehicles were zigzagging across lanes at speeds reaching up to a staggering 100 m.p.h. The 16-year-old driver in the Passat lost control over the vehicle, causing the car to flip over several times across multiple lanes of the road. Two passengers, Anthony Foreman, 18, and Jayli Campbell, 16, were thrown from the Passat and died at the scene of the accident. Two passengers survived the crash. Charlotte McQuillen, survived the accident although she suffered serious injury as a result of the collision including reports that say the teen will have to recover from traumatic brain injury. Anthoney Taylor, 16, also survived the crash although his injuries are unclear at this time. Johnson did not flee the scene of the accident according to police reports and cooperated with authorities once officers assessed the scene of the collision. The teen has no prior criminal record, although authorities say his vehicle was found containing a small amount of marijuana. Johnson is being charged with intoxicated driving, although his lawyer says there were no field sobriety tests to confirm the teen’s alleged intoxication. Teen driving: reminders for concerned parents Last week, we blogged on actions parents can take to prevent teen car accidents. Tips include:

Sign a parent-teen contract. Download your free contract now.
Enforcing the rules. Every teen driver needs to know that rules are there for a purpose, and when they are broken, consequences will follow.
Have a DUI backup plan. As most parents can attest, there are many instances when teen drivers run into problems that supersede their know-how and maturity. Drinking is one of those problems. In cases of emergency, your teen should have an open-door policy where they feel safe to call you when they need help – such in the case of drunk driving or driving while intoxicated.

About the Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC The Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC are specialists in car accident injury. Every personal injury attorney in our San Diego office works hard to seek maximum recovery for every injured client. Your case is handled without any out-of-pocket costs, so do not hesitate to speak to a San Diego personal injury lawyer today for a free legal evaluation. Call us at 1-800-655-6585.