Drug Lawsuits in U.S.

There is a growing number of drug lawsuits filed in the United States each year. Some people allege that this is just a symptom of our over zealous compensation culture and class action hungry lawyers. Whilst, others simply suggest that large pharmaceutical companies are not testing their drugs efficiently before releasing them to the public, they argue that profits are far more important than consumer safety.

Whichever side of the fence you sit, drug lawsuits are a growing problem. Drug companies have long been accused of rushing a new product out to market, without properly and diligently testing a product. However, is this a fair accusation? After all these drugs are not forced upon anyone, many of them are available over the counter. They’re also approved, following extensive rigor tests by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) , so if the regulator is happy, what else can the manufacturer do? Are the drug lawsuits being aimed at the wrong people? Should we be looking at how conclusive the tests are and the time it takes to approve a drug.

Again, it depends on your point of view. During the recent Vioxx lawsuit, it was alleged by one lawyer that vital information about the potentially damaging side effects of Vioxx was not submitted. If this is proved to be correct and that the drug company knew of the added risks all along, then there will be some serious ramifications, this will send shock waves throughout the pharmaceutical industry as many lawyers will begin to question the credibility of the whole pharmaceutical industry, claiming that greed, shareholders and profit are more important than patient lives. Rest assured, more drug lawsuits will follow as a result.

Drug lawsuits are not just limited to the US, there are examples of cases being filed in many countries all over the world. This includes a case filed by an Australian called Graeme Peterson, Mr Peterson is alleging Vioxx is directly responsible for a heart attack he had in December 2003. This followed a medical he had just two weeks before his heart attack, from which he was given a clean bill of health.