Some drugs are defective because of the way they’ve been designed. Perhaps there are unintended consequences or side effects. For instance, maybe it’s demonstrated that a drug increases the risk of heart disease or causes a patient to suffer a heart attack—something that was previously unknown. This type of drug could be considered defective and dangerous.
But there are also cases in which the drug itself is perfectly safe. The problem isn’t with the medication, but with the label that is provided to the consumer. This can also make the drug very dangerous due to labeling errors.
How much should you take?
A simple example is that most consumers turn to the labeling instructions for dosage recommendations. They may be told how many pills to take, how many milliliters of a liquid are safe or how often they can take the medication.
But mistakes in this area can be dangerous. Say that someone is only supposed to take a single pill every 24 hours, but the label says they can take it every 12 hours. They are inadvertently exposing themselves to far more of the drug than intended, which could have serious consequences.
Another example is when the wrong dosage is listed for a particular age group. For instance, if children under 12 are supposed to take a half dose, but the label says they can take a full dose, that amount may be safe for an adult, but could have potentially fatal effects for a child.
Have you or a family member suffered harm due to a defective product or a dangerous drug? If so, it’s time to carefully look into all of your legal options.