At some point everyone, including Illinois defective medical product attorneys, must put their faith in a medical product or drug to help cure them of an illness or injury.  Patients can ask the right questions, select the right doctors and make the best medical decisions possible.  However, if the drug or medical device upon which they rely is defective then more harm than good may be caused.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority and the responsibility to recall defective medical products and drugs.  According to the FDA, eleven safety alerts were issued for medical devices in the first five months of 2009. The 2009 medical device recalls included a wide variety of devices ranging from infant apnea monitors to pacemakers.   Safety alerts were also issued for twenty seven drugs during the same period of 2009.  Those alerts were for drugs that ranged from Botox and Hydrox to Raptiva.

Patients who are hurt by defective drugs or medical devices, or their loved ones, may have legal claims against the drug’s manufacturer, distributor and others.  Since the injuries caused by defective medical products and drugs are often severe, damages are important to the financial health and physical recovery of many patients.  The most common causes of action include product liability claims and negligence lawsuits.

Product Liability and Negligence Claims

In order to prevail in a product liability lawsuit the plaintiff must prove that:

  • The drug or medical device was in an unreasonably dangerous condition at the time that it left the control of the manufacturer; and
  • That unreasonably dangerous condition caused the patient’s injuries.

The plaintiff does not need to prove that the manufacturer was reckless in putting the device or the drug on the market. Instead, the plaintiff needs to prove that the dangerous condition of the device or drug was created while it was in the control of the manufacturer and caused the patient’s injuries.

The plaintiff may also have a claim against the distributor, pharmacist or doctor for negligence if:

  • The distributor, pharmacist or doctor owed the patient a duty of care;
  • The duty of care was breached because the distributor, pharmacist or doctor failed to provide the reasonable standard of care that a prudent distributor, pharmacist or doctor would have provided in similar circumstances;
  • That breach of duty was the cause of the patient’s injuries; and
  • The plaintiff is entitled to damages pursuant to Illinois negligence law.

Hiring an Illinois Attorney

Dolan Law Offices represents people who were hurt by defective medical products or defective drugs throughout Illinois and the greater Chicagoland area, including Cook County, DuPage County, Lake County, McHenry County, and Will County, and the towns of Aurora, Addison, Chicago Heights, Joliet, Hillsdale, Plainfield, Rolling Meadows, Des Plains, Schaumburg, Palatine, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Hanover Park, Streamwood, Prospect Heights, Wheeling, Wheaton, Waukegan, Inverness, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Elgin, Bartlett, Itasca, Bloomingdale and Oak Park.

Please contact us today for a free consultation.  The Chicago defective drug attorneys of Dolan Law Offices will not collect a fee from you unless your case results in a monetary verdict or settlement.