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Defective Drug (Product Liability) Questions

Contributor: How can I contribute?

I received a Mirena IUD in 2014 and suffered problems for several months. Is it too late to file a lawsuit?
Asked by user in Washington. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

I’m sorry to hear about the problems you experienced.

There have been thousands of lawsuits related to Mirena IUDs to date. Most of these lawsuits allege that:

  • Mirena misled users about the benefits of the device, or
  • Mirena failed to warn users about the risks associated with the device.

You can read more about Mirena lawsuits here.

As you alluded to, every state has a statute of limitations that limits the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit. In Washington, product liability lawsuits are generally limited to 3 years from the date you discover your injury (See RCW 4.16.080).

Based on the information you provided, it is probably too late to file a lawsuit. However, there are rare exceptions to the statute of limitations. My advice is to meet with a personal injury attorney in your area. Most initial consultations are free and the attorney will be able to review your case in detail and explain your options.

I purchased a baby shark toy that swims and sings in the water. Last night, my daughter was playing with the toy and she cut her perineum and bruised her anus. I was prescribed bacitracin for the area. I’m emotionally distressed because she cries when she urinates and I feel helpless.
Asked by user in California. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

I’m so sorry this happened to your daughter.

You may be able to file a lawsuit against the toy manufacturer if the baby shark was defective. Generally speaking, there are 3 types of defects that the law recognizes:

  1. Design defects. A product is defectively designed if it failed to perform as safely as a reasonable person would expect, even when used as intended (or at least in a manner that was reasonably foreseeable)
  2. Failure to warn. A product is defectively designed if it failed to perform as safely as a reasonable person would expect, even when used as intended (or at least in a manner that was reasonably foreseeable)
  3. Manufacturing defect. A defectively manufactured product is one that—although properly designed—left the manufacturer in a condition other than intended.

Without more information, it’s impossible for me to know whether or not the baby shark was defective. I would recommend meeting with a personal injury attorney in your area. Most initial consultations are free. You can find an attorney near you by using our free online directory.

In the meantime, you can learn more about defective product lawsuits in California here.

I am going to have a Mirena device removed by surgery. This is the second one so far.
Asked by user in California. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

I’m sorry to hear that you are having complications with your intrauterine device. You are certainly not alone. Although the Mirena device has worked well for some women, there have been thousands of lawsuits filed by women who have suffered serious and painful side effects.

I don’t know enough about your situation to be able to tell you whether you have a good case or not. I would strongly recommend meeting with a defective product (product liability) attorney in California to discuss the facts of your case. Most initial consultations are free. You can find an experienced California attorney here.

In the meantime, you can learn more about Mirena lawsuits here.

The hospital found my IUD in my pelvic area. I was told I need surgery to remove it.
Asked by user in Alabama. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

I’m sorry this happened to you.

Thousands of complaints have been made to the United States Food and Drug Administration regarding the Mirena IUD. Many of these complaints have alleged that the device perforated the patient’s uterus or otherwise moved around the body. Several lawsuits have also been filed.

In general, companies that manufacture dangerous devices can be held liable for the damages caused by their products (including the cost of necessary surgeries). To hold the company liable, you need to prove that the manufacturer was negligent.

You can find more information about finding an attorney and filing a lawsuit based on a defective Mirena product here.

I had a Mercedes Tekata airbag deploy. The injuries were minimal, but my work vehicle has been at the local Mercedes dealership for almost 7 weeks with still no answer. I’ve only owned this vehicle for 3 weeks when this incident occurred. A claim was filed with Mercedes Benz USA corporate on August 24th. How do I find a lawyer for this, or do I call my insurance and file a police report?
Asked by user in Washington. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

If I understand your question correctly, you believe your airbag was defective and improperly deployed. You brought your vehicle to your local Mercedes dealership to be repaired, but have been unable to get an update on the status of your vehicle.

If you filed an insurance claim for the accident, I would try contacting your insurance company and explaining the issue. The insurance company may have better luck getting through to the dealership. In addition, I would talk to an attorney in your area about a potential product liability lawsuit. You can locate an attorney in your area using our free online directory.

I had Allergan Natrelle Inspira breast implants done by a plastic surgeon in New Mexico where I am a resident and spend the summer. I live in Florida in the winter. The implants started to ripple and I was in constant pain. I had them removed for free by the same surgeon, but I had to pay for the surgical suite.
Asked by user in Florida. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

I’m sorry this happened to you.

There have been a number of lawsuits, as well as FDA requested recalls, involving the Allergan Natrelle Inspira breast implants.

You may be able to recover damages (including the cost of the surgical suite) by filing a lawsuit. Depending on the specific circumstances surrounding your surgery, the lawsuit might be a product liability lawsuit (if the implants were defective) or a medical malpractice lawsuit (if the plastic surgeon was negligent in inserting the breast implants).

I would strongly recommend meeting with an attorney in your area to discuss the specifics of your case. You can locate an attorney in Florida or New Mexico using our free online directory.

In the meantime, be sure to save copies of all communications you have had with your surgeon. In addition, I would recommend taking pictures of any scarring that resulted from the implants or their removal. You can read more about breast implant lawsuits here.



Medication errors

I was put on Abilify in December 2020 and stopped taking it recently due to compulsive gambling. I had amazing credit and hardly any debt. I now have $30k in gambling debt. Please help me.
Asked by user in Louisiana. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

I’m so sorry this happened to you. As you may know, thousands of lawsuits have been filed against the drug manufacturers of Abilify. The lawsuits allege that the drug manufacturers failed to provide adequate warning to Abilify users concerning the drug’s serious side effects, which include uncontrollable urges to gamble. Although many of these lawsuits have settled, there is still time to file a lawsuit.

If you believe Abilify is causing you to experience health issues or side effects, please see your health care professional. Once you have done that, consider reaching out to a personal injury attorney. You can find an experienced personal injury attorney in your area using our free online directory.

I have Tardive Dyskinesia from Abilify. I still have hand tremors and a shopping addiction from it. Do I have a case? What action should I take?
Asked by user in Washington. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

I’m so sorry this happened to you.

A number of lawsuits have already been filed against Abilify. You can read about the lawsuits here.

I would recommend meeting with a pharmaceutical liability attorney. You can find an attorney near you using our free online directory. Most initial consultations are free and the attorney will be able to review the facts of your case and help you decide on a course of action.

I was taking the birth control Mirena and found out that I have breast cancer. I know I developed breast cancer from Mirena.
Asked by user in Florida. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

I’m so sorry this happened to you.

Thousands of lawsuits have already been filed against Bayer, the company that manufactures Mirena. Most of these lawsuits stem from women experiencing one of the following issues:

  • Perforated organs and device migration

  • Bleeding

  • Ectopic pregnancy

  • Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)

  • Pseudotumor cerebri (“false brain tumor”)

If you would like to pursue an individual claim for an injury related to Mirena use, you should contact a personal injury lawyer near you for guidance on whether that’s possible. You can use our free online directory to locate an attorney.

In the meantime, you can learn more about Mirena lawsuits here.

I’ve had severe allergic reactions to hydrochlorothiazide, lisinopril and amlodipine. I need help suing this drug manufacturer. This is painful, itchy and it’s as if I’ve been burned all over my body. There’s nothing that my PC physician or my dermatologist can do, and I have to have another biopsy done in 6 weeks. I need help please.
Asked by user in Mississippi. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

I am so sorry to hear that you’re experiencing discomfort. There are a few things that could be happening. You could be right that you’re having an allergic reaction to a drug, or the condition could be caused by something else. You mentioned that you’ve seen your primary physician and a dermatologist, so those are reasonable first steps toward diagnosis and treatment.

However, there are certain situations that would make a pharmaceutical company liable for your condition. If you believe that you’re interested in filing a lawsuit, you should find a lawyer who specializes in pharmaceutical claims. Your lawyer will review your diagnosis and medical condition and advise whether you have a claim. You’re welcome to use the Enjuris law firm directory to find a lawyer who can assist. I hope you feel better soon.

Asked by user in Wisconsin. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

Unfortunately, many women have experienced problems with the Mirena IUD. There have been more than 45,000 adverse event reports about Mirena since its FDA approval in 2000.

I would recommend reaching out to an attorney in your area to discuss your case. Most initial consultations are free. You can find an attorney near you using our free online directory.

In the meantime, you can learn more about Mirena lawsuits here.

I was prescribed medication for several years. After becoming better, my ribs began to fracture easily. A doctor informed me that the medication was likely the cause of the bone fractures.
Asked by user in North Carolina. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

You may be able to file a pharmaceutical liability lawsuit if the medication you were taking was defective. Generally speaking, there are 3 types of defects:

  1. Design defects. A product is defectively designed if it fails to perform as safely as a reasonable person would expect, even when used as intended (or at least in a manner that was reasonably foreseeable).
  2. Failure to warn. Also called “marketing defects,” these focus on actions in the supply chain. The product was properly designed, but it did not have the correct instructions or warnings (for example, it didn’t accurately state the potential side effects). This lack of guidance made the product unreasonably dangerous to its intended consumers.
  3. Manufacturing defect. A defectively manufactured product is one that—although properly designed—left the manufacturer in a condition other than intended.

Without more information, it’s impossible for me to know whether the medication you took was defective. I would recommend meeting with a personal injury attorney in your area. You can find one near you using our free online directory.

In the meantime, you can learn more about how to choose the right North Carolina attorney here, and you can learn how to file a civil lawsuit in North Carolina here.

I took this medication 2008 to 2015 and still have side effects from it including liver disease, kidney, and thyroid diseases.
Asked by user in Washington. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

Generally speaking, the statute of limitations for defective drugs is 3 years. In other words, you have 3 years from the date the injury occurs to file a lawsuit. However, if the injury is discovered later, the “discovery rule” allows for a 1-year statute of limitations from the date of discovery.

Without more information, I can’t tell you for certain whether you can still file a lawsuit. I would recommend meeting with a personal injury attorney in your area as soon as possible. Most initial consultations are free and the attorney will be able to review your case in detail and let you know whether you can still file a lawsuit.

If you need help finding an attorney, these articles can help:

I was prescribed Levofloxacin in October of 2019. I immediately noticed that my joints were swollen and hurt in my arms and legs. I quit taking this medicine after 36 hours. Almost 14 months later, I still have constant knee pain and have developed pain in my lower left leg.
Asked by user in Colorado. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

I’m sorry this is happening to you.

To recover damages for an injury caused by a defective drug, you need to prove that:

  • The drug you took was in a “defective condition” at the time it left the control of the manufacturer or seller, and
  • The defective condition caused your injury.

There are 3 main types of defects:

  1. Manufacturing defect. A defectively manufactured drug is one that—though property designed—left the manufacturer in a condition other than intended (e.g., a drug that became contaminated during the manufacturing of the drug).
  2. Design defect. A defectively designed drug is one that failed to perform as safely as a reasonable person would expect even when used as intended.
  3. Marketing defect. A marketing defect exists if the drug does not contain proper warning or instructions.

A product liability attorney will be able to take a closer look at your case to determine whether the drug you took could be considered defective, or whether you simply suffered known side effects. Most initial consultations are free and you can locate an attorney in your area using our free online directory.

In the meantime, you can read more about pharmaceutical liability in Colorado.

I started having bad side effects after taking Abilify. The big problem is my compulsive gambling. I have lost quite a large amount of money. I only found out that it probably caused my gambling problem in the last 2 weeks. I immediately started calling lawyers but can’t find one to take my case.
Asked by user in New Jersey. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

I’m so sorry this happened to you. As you probably know, thousands of Abilify lawsuits have already been filed. With that being said, it is absolutely not too late to file a lawsuit. There is, however, no guarantee that a particular lawyer will take your case.

I would recommend contacting personal injury lawyers near you using our free online directory. If you’re still not successful, I would contact your local state bar association’s lawyer referral service. You can find the contact information here.

I wanted to know if the black box warning was mandatory because my prescription did not have a black box warning but did in very small letters have all the possible side effects listed. I never would have even understood what the tendon issues were meaning even after reading it. I was not told anything by my pharmacist either. Is there a way that I would be considered for compensation since I have had and continue to have injury from the drug?
Asked by user in Maryland. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

I’m sorry to hear that you were injured from a pharmaceutical. Every drug comes with side-effects and affects different people in different ways. In order to have a successful claim for an injury, you’d have to prove that the drug was defective — in other words, the company was negligent in producing, labeling, marketing, or distributing the product. In addition, you need to prove that your injury was caused by the drug.

Remember that correlation does not equal causation. In other words, you might have begun to experience tendon issues while taking the drug or shortly thereafter, but that alone doesn’t necessarily prove that your tendon issues were because of the drug. Based on your symptoms and medical history, your doctor should be able to provide more insight into the cause of your issues.

The first step is to ask your doctor whether they think it’s possible that your tendon issues could have been caused by the Levofloxacin. The next step is to seek a pharmaceutical defect lawyer who can provide more insight. You might consider using the Enjuris law firm directory to find a lawyer in your area who can help. I hope you feel better soon!

I was taking Paxil for 12 years, Zoloft for 2 years and Risperdal for 14 years.
Asked by user in Missouri. Answered by Enjuris Editors.

There have been lawsuits with respect to drug injuries allegedly caused by each of these pharmaceuticals (Paxil, Zoloft and Risperdal). If you believe you’ve suffered injury or illness as a result of taking one or all of these medications, the first step is to get a medical diagnosis for the condition you’re experiencing or that you’ve experienced. If your doctor believes that there’s a link between your condition and your having taken these medications, you should call a lawyer who specializes in pharmaceutical liability. Feel free to use the Enjuris law firm directory to seek the advice of a Missouri lawyer.

These are complicated cases and your lawyer can guide you through the process. You can also read more here: