Oklahoma City Defective Drugs Lawyer

An Oklahoma City personal injury lawyer at Nix and McIntyre Law Office, LLP listens, cares, and works diligently to provide relief to injury victims, particularly those injured due to a dangerous drug, such as Paxil, a drug commonly prescribed to treat depression and anxiety, or the Ortho Evra contraceptive patch. Whether your best outcome means settling or going to trial bringing a drug liability lawsuit, we have successfully handled a wide range of personal injury matters, and have the skills and dedication necessary to assist you.

Unsafe products such as Paxil have been known to produce side effects including mental trauma, birth defect risk, and even suicide. If you have suffered injury or a loved one wrongful death as a result of a defective drug, through no fault of your own, you need our help. Our Oklahoma Paxil personal injury attorneys serve clients throughout the state of Oklahoma including Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Lawton, Enid, Edmond, Norman, Ada, Weatherford, Ardmore, Yukon, Stillwater, Midwest City, Moore, and Shawnee, in counties including Cleveland County, McCurtain County, Oklahoma County, and Washita County. Contact us today to schedule an initial consultation.

Nix & McIntyre has filed the first federal lawsuit related to Paxil and birth defects. News 9 reported on this case that we filed on behalf of a woman who took Paxil during her pregnancy.

Paxil® - An Overview

In 1992, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Paxil® (paroxetine) for marketing in the United States for treatment of depression, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders and panic disorders. Paxil® is in the class of medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). It is similar to other SSRI drugs such as Zoloft® and Prozac®, but its manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), marketed it as "non-habit forming" and as having significantly fewer side effects than other SSRI antidepressant medication.

Although touted as a wonder drug with fanfare similar to that surrounding the introduction of Prozac®, hundreds of individuals have claimed that Paxil® is addictive and causes extreme withdrawal symptoms when they try to quit taking the drug. Recent studies have also shown that Paxil® may increase the risk of birth defects, particularly heart defects, in children whose mothers took Paxil® while pregnant. Other recent studies have linked Paxil® to an increased risk of suicide. If you suffered an adverse reaction after stopping taking Paxil®, if you took Paxil® while pregnant and your child has a birth defect or if you or a loved one has tried to commit suicide while taking Paxil®, speak to an experienced personal injury attorney.

How SSRIs Work

SSRIs are a family of pharmaceuticals used to treat chemical imbalances in the brain that cause depression and other mental disorders. Research suggests that depression has both genetic and biochemical causes. Depressed people seem to have lower levels of two kinds of brain neurotransmitters, called serotonin and norepinephrine, which are chemicals that allow communication between nerve cells. It is not fully understood exactly how SSRIs work other than that they increase the amount of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain by slowing their natural reabsorption. By inhibiting reabsorption of such chemicals by the nerve cells in the brain so quickly, more of them accumulate, correcting the imbalance that may lead to depression.

Although SSRIs have certainly helped people who suffer from depression and other brain-chemical disorders, the drugs have also received widespread media attention for their "dark side." Hundreds of people who use the drugs have experienced severe reactions including violent episodes of suicide and murder. There have also been complaints about the extreme difficulty patients have getting off the drug.

Drug Manufacturer's Responsibility

While all medications have certain, anticipated side effects, a drug manufacturer has a duty to inform physicians adequately regarding the known risks associated with its drugs. If a manufacturer fails to do so, it can be held liable by patients who are injured based on a product liability theory, for providing inadequate warnings. Drug manufacturers can also be held liable for injuries to consumers based on theories of negligence, or even intentional or malicious conduct. If you have taken Paxil® and experienced any unusual side effects, you should contact your physician at once. In addition, you should contact an attorney experienced in product liability litigation to discuss potential legal claims you might have, which could allow you to recover for the harm Paxil® has caused you.

Ordinarily, to hold someone liable for your injuries, you must show that they were careless — that is, negligent — and that their carelessness caused the accident or injury. With products such as drugs and medical devices, which are administered and sold to the general public, however, it would be extremely difficult and prohibitively expensive for one individual to have to show how and when a manufacturer was careless in administering or selling the drug or device. For these reasons, the law has developed a set of rules known as "strict liability," which allows a person injured by a drug or medical device to recover compensation from the liable manufacturer or medical professional, without showing that the conduct was negligent.

The concept of strict liability can work in a number of ways in the drug context. For example, liability can be found for a prescription drug if foreseeable risks of harm posed by the drug are sufficiently great in relation to its foreseeable therapeutic benefits. In addition, a plaintiff who seeks recovery based on strict liability for an injurious side effect from a properly manufactured prescription drug must prove both that the drug caused the injury, and that the manufacturer breached a duty to warn of the possibility that an injurious reaction might occur. For example, pharmacists and doctors share the blame for prescribing dangerous combinations of drugs without obtaining a sufficient medical history to ensure that problems do not occur.

Theories of Liability

Most of the lawsuits against GSK allege a failure to warn about the side effects, addictive qualities and potential to increase the risk of birth defects and suicide. Depending on the facts about your use of Paxil® and legal questions in your particular situation, your attorney may pursue a claim on your behalf using one or more of the following legal theories:

• Defective or inadequate warnings or a failure to warn about a drug's danger or side effects (including reactions with other medications)
• Inadequate testing on a medication prior to its use, which can include issues of testing on animals or humans
• Over-promotion, including an increase in more aggressive marketing and advertising efforts by the manufacturer (especially by pharmaceutical companies through print, Internet and television advertising), has led to a corresponding increase in liability for injuries attributed to the drugs being marketed
• Defective design of the drug, one that is arguably unfit for its intended purpose
• Tainted or contaminated drugs

Potentially Liable Parties

Depending on the legal theory being pursued in your particular case, potential defendants who may be sued in a drug claim case include the:

• Pharmaceutical company who manufactured and marketed the medication
• Physician who prescribed the medication
• Distributor of the medication
• Pharmacist dispensing the medication
• Nurse who administered the medication
• Hospital employing the physician, nurse or registered pharmacist

Pursuing Your Claim

Injuries caused by drugs should be evaluated for a potential legal claim. Due to the complexity of the facts and legal issues involved in your case, discussing your situation with an attorney who is experienced in the area of drug defects is the best way to ensure a thorough evaluation of the likelihood of the lawsuit's success. Contact a competent and experienced personal injury attorney today if you suffered an adverse reaction when trying to quit taking Paxil®, if you believe Paxil® has caused birth defects in your child or you are concerned about an increased risk of suicide.

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