Victims of defective or harmful drugs have legal protections available to them to help hold companies liable and compensate victims. A drug lawsuit could be the appropriate step for victims, allowing them to receive compensation for the harms and injuries caused to them by the dangerous product.
The pharmaceutical company that makes the diabetes drug Actos recently announced it would settle claims that the drug caused bladder cancer for $2.4 billion. The company noted that the settlement will cover most of the product liability lawsuits against it from patients and family members of patients. There are approximately 9,000 product liability bladder cancer claims against the pharmaceutical company at this time. Victims assert that the pharmaceutical company concealed the cancer risk posed by the drug.
The drug company is not admitting liability and maintains that the benefits of the drug outweigh the risks. The company plans to continue selling the Actos and the Food and Drug Administration added a warning about the risk of bladder cancer to the label for the drug in 2011. After years of litigation, representatives for the victims were happy with the company's settlement decision. If 95 percent of victims who brought claims agree to the settlement, it will become effective.
The cases that have gone to various courts have had mixed outcomes, however, one case last year ordered the pharmaceutical company, and a second pharmaceutical company that had been a co-marketer of the drug in question, to pay $9 billion in punitive damages for hiding the cancer risk of the drug; the damages award was later reduced to $36.8 million. The present settlement is one of the largest in pharmaceutical product liability history.
For victims who have suffered harm because of a defective or harmful drug, the challenges they are left with may be significant. The option to file a drug lawsuit claim helps to protect victims and hold pharmaceutical companies responsible for defective or harmful drugs.
