Pharmaceutical Litigation Lawyers in San Diego

The San Diego pharmaceutical litigation attorneys of Casey Gerry present an overview on pharmaceutical and medical device litigation

The pharmaceutical industry is $100-billion a year enterprise, dominated by multinational companies who have an enormous financial stake in every new drug they bring to market. Many drugs’ dangers first come to light when consumers suffer painful, and sometimes fatal consequences of companies’ failure to conduct adequate trials.

Casey Gerry is a plaintiffs law firm that recognizes the need for consumer protection from drugs whose dangerous interactions and side effects have not been adequately researched. Our lawyers work in pharmaceutical litigation, fling lawsuits on behalf of people who have been harmed, has earned our firm a national leadership role in protecting the most vulnerable citizens from drugs rushed into use before their interactions and side effects were adequately understood.

Since 2002 more than a dozen widely used prescription drugs have been withdrawn from the market for safety reasons. Nine of those recalled drugs were approved since 1993, when the Food and Drug Administration, under strong bipartisan pressure in Washington, agreed to "fast-track" review and approval of more drugs. Many of these drugs were approved without adequate testing, and have resulted in patients’ injuries and deaths.

Recent recalls of dangerous drugs include:

• The prescription diet drug Fen-Phen
• The cholesterol lowering drug Baycol
• The diabetes medicine Rezulin
• The heartburn medication Propulsid
• Childhood vaccines which contain Thimerosal (methyl mercury)
• Phenylpropanolamine, or PPA, a common ingredient in over-the-counter cold medications which can cause hemorrhagic strokes

Other potentially dangerous drugs or medical devices include Vioxx, Celebrex, Zyprexa, Risperdal, Metabolife 356 (ephedra), and Guidant pacemakers and defibrillators. All of these are now the subject of pharmaceutical litigation.

Casey Gerry pharmaceutical litigation lawyers also handle cases involving medical device litigation. Several of our highest-profile medical litigation efforts have also involved medical devices, including the defective Sulzer hip implants, and silicone breast implants.

Manufacturers of pharmaceuticals are legally obligated to assure that their drugs and medications are reasonably safe when used as intended. Casey Gerry’s pharmaceutical litigation attorneys in San Diego know that a drug's approval by the FDA does not guarantee its safety and does not shield a drug manufacturer from liability.

Although many medications have been designed to help the elderly live longer, drugs and medical devices can put them at risk of crippling side effects and dangerous drug reactions. Because of seniors' high utilization, their greater frequency of multiple illnesses, and the reduced capacity to metabolize drugs that comes with aging, the elderly are at much greater risk of disabling side effects and possibly fatal drug reactions. Plaintiffs law firms such as Casey Gerry often have seniors as their clients.