Drug Injuries
Serving throughout the Great State of Florida
In an age of countless pharmaceutical breakthroughs, it may come as no surprise that sometimes new wonder drugs aren’t as wonderful as they’re touted to be. With pharmaceutical giants aggressively marketing their products, the health risks associated with the medications are often downplayed or hidden from the public altogether. Consequently, the Food and Drug Administration (www.fda.gov) all too often has to request stricter warning labels for drugs, only to pull them from the market months later. By this time, however, numerous cases of serious illness and even death have surfaced as a result of a drug.
If you or someone in your family has been harmed by a drug, seek the counsel and legal aid of a Florida drug injury lawyer with Steinger, Iscoe & Greene. Our experienced and dedicated attorneys can help you in your quest for justice for the wrong done to you or your loved one by a medication.
Follow the links below to get information you need to know about some of the more prominent drug recalls and injuries.
Ace Inhibitors
Certain blood pressure medications, commonly known as ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors, have recently been linked to severe and life-threatening birth defects in children whose mothers took the drugs during their first trimesters of pregnancy (1). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated its ACE inhibitor patient safety sheet to reflect the findings, originally published in the New England Journal of Medicine (2). [read more]
Fosamax®
Fosamax® (alendronate), a drug that has been on the market for almost 10 years, has been linked to osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) (1). Otherwise known as “dead jaw,” osteonecrosis is a severe condition in which the jaw dies and is unable to regenerate, eventually leading to extreme pain and exposed bone in the mouth. [read more]
Ortho Evra®
Ortho Evra® is the number one prescribed birth control brand in the United States (1) and is known as a ‘transdermal contraceptive system.’ Ortho Evra is a birth control patch that is applied to the arms, torso, abdomen, or buttocks once a week and offers “the same efficacy as the Pill with even greater simplicity (1).” It turns out, however, that women using the Ortho Evra patch are at an increased risk for fatal blood clots compared to women taking birth control pills. [read more]
Paxil®
On September 27, 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and GlaxoSmithKline notified healthcare professionals of changes to the Pregnancy/PRECAUTIONS section of the Prescribing Information for Paxil® to describe the results of a study of major congenital malformations, which are physical body or organ malformations existing at birth. [read more]
Viagra®, Cialis®, Levitra®
Sildenafil citrate (commonly known as Viagra®), tadalafil (Cialis®) and vardenafil (Levitra®) are drugs prescribed to treat erectile dysfunction (ED). Erectile dysfunction (also identified as impotence) is defined as: “the inability to develop or sustain an erection satisfactory for sexual intercourse (1).” Viagra, approved on March 27, 1998 was the first drug in its class and has since become the most prescribed drug for ED (2). [read more]
Vioxx®
On August 18, 2006, the Associated Press reported, "Merck & Co. suffered two major legal setbacks over the withdrawn painkiller Vioxx® when a federal jury ordered the drug maker to pay $51 million to a heart attack victim, and a state judge in New Jersey overturned a November verdict favoring the company." [read more]
Zyprexa®
Zyprexa, or olanzapine, is an atypical antipsychotic medication that is Eli Lilly’s best selling drug. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug for the short-term treatment of schizophrenia in September 1996, and it has since been approved for the long-term treatment of schizophrenia and for treatment in various forms for bipolar disorder. Zyprexa has also been prescribed for “off-label” uses not approved by the FDA including insomnia, anxiety, dementia, ADD, and a variety of behavioral issues. [read more]
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If you have been injured in Florida, contact a Steinger, Iscoe & Greene Florida personal injury attorney today. We have offices in Port St. Lucie and West Palm Beach and have successfully advocated for clients throughout Florida, including Broward County, Indian River, Okeechobee, Martin County, Palm Beach, and West Palm Beach. Complete a free online consultation form or call us toll free at (800)-560-5059 for an immediate evaluation of your case.
Our personal injury attorneys are experienced in advocating for clients in the following areas: auto accident, birth injury, boat accident, brain injury, drug injuries, defective medical device, defective product, dog bite, environmental dangers, medical malpractice, motorcycle accident, premises liability, Social Security Disability, spinal cord injury, truck accident, workers’ compensation, and wrongful death.
