Texans With Injuries from Generic Drugs May Get No Damages
When generic drugs first became available in the 1980s, patients everywhere celebrated due to the drastically lower prices. What consumers didn’t know was that, in choosing generic drugs over brand name versions, they were giving up their right to receive damages should they suffer from injuries due to ingesting generic drugs.
According to a recent article in the New York Times, while patients who became ill after taking brand name dangerous drugs can win a malpractice lawsuit, those who take generic drugs cannot. The reason goes back to a Supreme Court decision which stated that, since generic drugs do not have control over what is listed on their labels, they cannot be sued for medical malpractice. Even cases involving drugs that necessitated amputations due to gangrene and major surgeries to address debilitating gastrointestinal problems, the prescription injury victims who were given generic forms of the drug had their cases dismissed.
San Antonio personal injury lawyers at The Herrera Law Firm, Inc. know that some Texas medical malpractice cases involve generic drugs and are working hard to fight for the rights of their dangerous drug lawsuit clients.
In the article, the significant inequity of patients filing medical malpractice lawsuits is evident. “Your pharmacists aren’t telling you, hey, when we fill this with your generic, you are giving up all of your legal remedies,” said Michael Johnson, a lawyer who represented Gladys Mensing, one of the patients who sued generic drug companies in last year’s Supreme Court case, Pliva v. Mensing. “You have a disparate impact between one class of people and another.”
Since almost 80 percent of prescriptions in this country are filled by generic drugs, the Supreme Court ruling could be affecting millions of people. And since most states allow pharmacists to dispense prescriptions with a generic drug rather than brand name, the inability to sue for dangerous drug illnesses very likely impacts millions of people.
It is shocking to note that over 40 judges have dismissed cases against manufacturers of generic drugs since the 2011 Supreme Court ruling. In one instance, dozens of cases were summarily dismissed by one judge who used the Supreme Court’s decision as a reason to dismiss the medical malpractice claims of all those significantly injured people.
What this means is that all of us must be aware when we get a prescription filled generically, that we may be forfeiting all legal recourse if we end up suffering dangerous generic drug injuries.
At The Herrera Law Firm, Inc., we aggressively fight for the rights of our clients who have suffered dangerous drug injuries. If you or a loved one has been injured by a prescription drug, you need a reliable and tough personal injury lawyer in Texas. Call us at 1-800-455-1054 or complete our online contact form to schedule a free consultation.
The Herrera Law Firm, Inc
111 Soledad St. , Suite 1900
San Antonio, TX 78205
