Drug Injury

The personal injury law firm of Grimes Teich Anderson is dedicated to helping victims who suffer drug and medical device injuries. With offices in Greenville and Gaffney, we represent people in those two cities as well as in Spartanburg, Anderson, Pickens, Laurens, Greenwood and other areas of South Carolina who have been injured. Along with our co-counsel in these national cases, have successfully handled many types of cases involving dangerous drugs and medical devices, and recovered awards for victims we represent.

Many, many drugs and medical devices are recalled every year due to defects that injure consumers. Meanwhile, the drug companies rake in millions of dollars by charging innocent consumers who depend on their medication. A large part of the profits go to aggressively marketing the drug as the cure for various symptoms, from pain and depression, to off-market uses. Drug representatives stock physician’s shelves with samples and press doctors to prescribe their product. Unfortunately, many of these drugs are not adequately tested and can actually be dangerous, causing permanent harm to patients. Even if they received FDA approval, prescription drugs are not necessarily safe for every patient. They may have serious side effects that cause lasting injuries and even death. In some cases, drugs have been rushed through testing and to market without a full understanding of their consequences. In other cases, the results of testing were not fully disclosed to the FDA prior to approval.

Prescription drugs and medical devices that have been recalled due to a product defect or identified as unreasonably dangerous products include:

• Actos, ActosPlusMet, ActoplusMetXR, Duetact
Use: Treatment for Type 2 diabetes
Side Effect: Bladder cancer, heart Attack, congestive heart Failure and death

• Bisphosphonates: Fosamax, Boniva, Actonel
Use: Treatment for osteopenia, osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, Paget’s disease
Side Effects: Femur and large bone fractures, osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), esophageal cancer

• Plavix
Use: Prevention of Blood clots and to reduce risk of heart attack, stroke
Side Effects: Cerebral bleeding, hemorrhagic stroke, gastrointestinal bleeding, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), severe ulcers

• Pradaxa
Use: Pevention of blood clots in patients with atrial fibrillation
Side effects: Internal bleeding, intracranial bleeding, uncontrollable bleeding following minor trauma

• Nexium, Dexilant, Prilosec, Zegerid, Prevadi, Protonix, AcipHex
Use: Treatment for acid reflux, peptic ulcers
Side effects: cardiac defects when taken by pregnant women

• SSRI/Antidepressants: Paxil, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Prozac, Lexapro, Effexor, Celexa, Zyban
Use: Treatment for depression
Side effects: Skeletal, neural tube, heart/limb birth defects, cleft lip and cleft palate when taken by pregnant women

• Topomax
Use: Treatment for epilepsy
Side Effects: Birth defects, cleft lip and cleft palate when taken by pregnant women

• Yaz, Yasmin
Use: Oral contraceptive
Side Effects: Blood clots, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), gallbladder disease/removal, pulmonary embolism, stroke, death

Fixodent, Poligrip, Super Poligrip
Adverse Events: Neurological injuries, hematological injuries, zinc toxicity

• Medtronic Infuse Bone Graft
Use: Promotes new bone growth in spinal fusion surgery
Adverse Events: uncontrolled bone growth, swelling of the neck resulting in injury or death, cancers, nerve injuries, chronic pain, difficulty in swallowing, breath and/or speaking, male sterility, retrograde ejaculation

• Metal on Metal Hip Implants – Dupuy, StrykerJohnson & Johnson, Wright Medical, Conserve, Biomet, Smith & Nephew, Zimmer
Use: Hip replacement
Adverse Event: Replacement/revision surgery, cobalt and chromium poisoning, device loosening and failure, metal debris causing pain and swelling, difficulty walking

• NuvaRing
Use: Internal Birth Control Device
Adverse Events: Blood clots, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism, stroke, death

• Transvaginal Mesh (TVM)
Use: Implanted in women during urogynecolgic procedures to repair pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (STI)
Adverse Events: Erosion of the mesh through the vaginal tissue, perforation or puncture of the bladder, intestines and bowels, painful sexual intercourse, urinary problems, revision surgery, vaginal pain

A number of FDA-approved drugs and medical devices have been pulled off the market after causing widespread injury to millions of consumers. These injuries may result from side effects such as blood clots, cardiac arrest, skin conditions, and stomach ulcers. Some drugs may also make consumers more susceptible to heart attacks, stroke, and even suicide. Other pills are misleadingly advertised for “off-market” uses that have not been researched or approved. It is not long before patients taking the new wave of prescription medications begin to suffer unwanted side effects, permanent injury, and in some cases, death. When a group of similarly-situated victims suffer the same injury, they may bring a class action lawsuit against the manufacturer or participate in multidistrict litigation. The maker of the defective drug is liable in damages for any harm caused by the product.

South Carolina law allows injured patients to recover compensation from manufacturers of defective drugs and devices. Unlike other personal injury actions, product liability only requires that consumers show the product was unreasonably dangerous and the harm they suffered was caused by the defendant’s product. These manufacturers are “strictly liable” to the victim. Wealthy drug companies often offer victims a paltry settlement to avoid litigation. An experienced product liability attorney can help you prove the full extent of present and future costs, drastically maximizing your recovery. Manufacturers should compensate victims for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering. If the lawsuit reveals increased profits at the expense of patient safety, courts may also award punitive damages.

If you or someone you love has suffered a drug injury, the personal injury lawyers at Grimes Teich Anderson can help. We have represented numerous victims injured by defective drugs and medical devices, recovering substantial awards for clients. Our co-counsel in these national cases trust Grimes Teich Anderson to be a firm that helps victims in South Carolina. Call 800.533.6845 for a free, confidential consultation with our legal team, or contact us online.