Prescription drugs are a part of the daily routine for most people to live a healthy life. An adverse effect from such drugs is considered a personal injury. Such prescription drug injury cases have formed headlines in recent times. If you or someone close to you has experienced such personal injury, you need to know your rights.
What Is Prescription Drug Injury in Florida?
In Florida, prescription drug injury is a medication error that is caused by the use of unsuitable medication. This can result from errors during manufacturing, supply, or prescribing the right dosage by a healthcare professional.
A Florida personal injury lawyer will know how to find the party responsible. They will help you receive fair compensation or the negligent behavior of the party responsible. Here’s how you can seek legal help, in Florida, for a drug injury caused by prescription drugs
Establishing That There Was a Breach
The first step is to establish that the defendant owed you a duty of care and breached it. In the case of prescription, this means that the drug company made sure that they provided enough warning about the side effects of the drugs.
Seek Medical Attention
The next step is to get medical attention. Mitigating damages is your responsibility, and you need to make sure that you do everything you can to get treatment. Also, maintain records of your condition from the beginning to the end of the treatment, including the costs.
Find a Good Lawyer
Although Florida law is similar to the rest of the country, there are enough nooks and bends to make it necessary to hire a Florida personal injury lawyer.
Inform the Insurance Companies
In Florida, only catastrophic personal injury cases are taken to court. The rest are dealt with by insurance companies. So, let your lawyer send notice of claims to both yours and the defendant’s insurance companies. Make sure that you don’t sign any documents without your lawyer reading them first.
Filing a Drug Injury Claim
According to Strict Liability Rules, when you experience adverse effects of a prescription drug and the drug manufacturer did not warn you about the possible dangers of the drug, you can file a drug injury claim.
There are four kinds of evidence that can be submitted to make a drug injury claim. They are:
Research studies indicating the complications caused by the drug
FDA recalls of the drug
Expert Testimony
Internal communication from the drug company
Your Florida personal injury lawyer will help you find witnesses and records to prove that the drug company was responsible for the injury and thus liable to pay. The claim will also include the time limit within which the defendant needs to respond, usually 30 days.
Negotiate a Settlement
Once you have filed your claim, if the insurance company agrees to settle immediately, then you can save on the cost and time required to go to trial. The settlement is usually based on negotiation with lawyers from both sides being present.
Going To Trial
In case you and the defendant are unable to settle then you can file a lawsuit. The Statute of Limitations in Florida gives four years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury case. There is no saying how long a lawsuit can take, but cases have been known to go on for 2-3 years.
Verdict
When a case is in the trial, the jury will evaluate all the evidence presented, and the statements and arguments made by each party and then give their verdict. If the verdict is in your favor, then they will decide on the settlement amount. The defense can appeal, which may lead to you receiving a lower amount than the initial verdict.
Prescription drug injury cases in Florida can turn out to be complicated if the plaintiff decides not to settle and instead take the case to trial. With this guide, you should be ready to deal with a drug company that has breached its duty of care toward you.
