St. Louis dangerous prescription drugs & medical malpractice Lawyers

McChesney & Ortwerth defend those injured or killed due to medical malpractice, dangerous medical devices and more

Experienced medical malpractice attorneys in St. Louis, Missouri

Prescription drugs and medical devices are supposed to improve our health. Prescription drugs and medical devices are regulated and approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before they reach the consumer. However, even with this oversight, there are large deficiencies in the FDA process for introducing certain drugs and devices to the market.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pharmaceutical drugs kill over 40,000 people every year. In 2011, it was reported that prescription drug deaths outnumbered traffic fatalities in the United States. Recent studies highlighted by the CDC estimate that more than 50% of all the drugs marketed to the American consumer have injurious effects, despite testing and FDA regulation.

Unfortunately, FDA recalls of many dangerous and medical devices have occurred after thousands of people were injured occurred.

Bringing lawsuits against a multi-billion dollar industry

Prescription drugs and medical devices are a multi-billion dollar per year industry. Big pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers spend huge amounts of money to design products for our use. If a product shows promise, a company will invest even more money to push it through human testing. Sometimes, in a rush to gain FDA approval, danger signs are overlooked or ignored. Because so much money is involved, manufacturers have been known to hide potentially damaging information and hope the negative findings.

What is an FDA recall?

According to the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a recall will lead a firm to remove one of its products from the market. Recalls may be conducted by a firm’s own initiative, or on the request or order of the FDA. The FDA will order a recall of a drug if it is defective and/or potentially harmful.

• Class I: Dangerous product that may cause serious health problem or death
• Class II: May cause temporary health problem or pose as a slight threat
• Class III: Unlikely to cause adverse health reaction but violates FDA laws

Powerful medical malpractice attorneys in Saint Louis

A recent study conducted by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston counted more than 1,700 drug recalls listed in the FDA’s enforcement reports between 2004 and 2011. During that time, the FDA issued approximately 2,900 announcements through the Recall Alert System.

McChesney & Ortwerth are currently accepting cases against the following medical devices and dangerous prescription drugs:

• GranuFlo
• IVC Filters
• Levaquin
• Lexapro birth defects
• Pradaxa
• Nuvaring
• Zofran
• Testosterone supplements
• Trans Vaginal Mesh
• Xarelto