Succeeding with a defective drug claim in Virginia usually requires showing all of the following things:
- The person who used the drug suffered a serious health problem or died,
- The health problem or death can be linked to use of the drug,
- The drug maker failed to warn the patient about the potential health problem or risk of death, and
- The drug maker knew or should have known that the risk to patients’ health or lives existed.
These are the evidentiary standards imposed on failure to warn cases. A smaller number of defective drug cases arise from manufacturing defects. In those cases, a patient experiences a severe side effect or dies because the drug maker or compounding pharmacist used the wrong ingredients; used too much of the active pharmaceutical ingredient, thereby, triggering an overdose; or included harmful substances in the drug product that should not be included.
A drug maker faced with a defective drug lawsuit will argue that its product was safe and that any problems experienced by patients were caused by things other than its product. Working with a dedicated Virginia personal injury lawyer is often necessary to collect, organize and present the evidence that counters the drug maker’s arguments.
EJL