Every day, more than 150 million Americans will take a prescription drug and this number does not even include non-prescription over-the-counter medications. With this in mind, it is easy to see just how drastic the impact of a tainted or defective drug can be. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed after using a prescription drug, please call a skilled Atlanta accident attorney from our firm.
All drug manufacturers must undergo a rigorous testing procedure to evaluate the safety of their medications before they submit this information to the FDA for approval. While this is generally enough to test most drugs, some medications have dangerous effects that do not show up for years and thus, are undiscovered during the testing period. In a few cases, the drug might be safe, but one batch may be manufactured incorrectly, making it highly dangerous. Even worse, some companies have been known to hide dangerous effects from the FDA so they can make money from a drug they know to be dangerous. When the news about these negative side effects reaches the Food and Drug Administration, they will generally force the company to issue a recall. When a drug you have been taking has been recalled, please get tested for any negative effects and then contact a skilled Atlanta accident lawyer.
In some cases, the drug may not be recalled before you start seeing negative symptoms from taking it. You can still file a suit against the company, even if a wide-scale recall has not been initiated. Ask your Atlanta accident attorney if you are not sure whether or not you have a claim.
After you have experienced a symptom, you have four years to contact an Atlanta accident lawyer and file a lawsuit, so do not wait too long to file a claim. Even if the recall occurred long ago, you can still file a suit as long as it was within four years of the date you noticed the effects on your system.