The world’s third largest pharmaceutical company, the United Kingdom’s GlaxoSmithKline, had to pay $750 million in order to settle a lawsuit that an American whistleblower initiated in 2004 regarding the sale of defective drugs. The lawsuit accused Glaxo of selling misidentified drugs. The mix up affected popular prescription drugs like the antidepressant Paxil CR and the diabetes drug Avandamet.
In investigating Glaxo, the Department of Justice found serious deficiencies in the quality assurance processes at a plant in Puerto Rico. Mixed up drugs led to misidentifications on the labels. Additionally, some pills split inappropriately, and others lacked an active ingredient.
Texas, along with sixteen other states, joined in the original lawsuit out of fears that problems at the plant would harm patients. Fortunately, there are no reports thus far that the problems led to any injuries.
The whistleblower who initiated the lawsuit received nearly $100 million of it under a law that gives whistleblowers a portion of money that the government recovers for his or her cooperation in the lawsuit. A Lufkin injury lawyer can advise you on your rights if a dangerous product has caused injury to you or a loved one.
Examples of Dangerous Products and Injuries They Can Cause
Drugs are often the subject of dangerous product lawsuits because they can have serious and life-threatening effects on a large number of people before any problems come to light. Recent lawsuits have involved drugs such as: Hydroxycut (a weight loss supplement), Accutane (an acne treatment drug), Heparin (an anti-coagulation drug) and Vioxx (an anti-inflammatory drug).
Many other products that consumers come across daily can also pose dangers to them or their family members. The following are the types of claims and other products involved in product liability lawsuits:
Design defects. Defects relating to design are ones that exist from the beginning, before the product even exists in tangible form. For example, some lawsuits have targeted SUVs because of design defects that make them prone to roll over. Toyota’s recent problems concerning stuck accelerators are also design-related.
Marketing defects. These dangers pertain to things like labels, instructions or safety warnings on a product. Many drug lawsuits concern marketing defects because the drugs and their labels have inadequate warnings regarding side effects and their dangers.
Manufacturing defects. These problems are a result of the physical creation or manufacturing of the product. Recently, tires have been the target of these sorts of product liability lawsuits. Tire manufacturers may create tires with poor components, poor quality assurance or treads that are likely to come apart. All of these problems have the potential to be disastrous for consumers who end up with the defective and dangerous product.
Dangerous product lawsuits often entail legal battles against large and wealthy corporations, and the testimony of multiple experts is usually necessary. Such cases require experienced and talented legal assistance. Contact a Lufkin injury attorney at Mike Love & Associates, LLC if a dangerous product has harmed you or a loved one.
