You expect that after taking the prescription medication that you picked up from your pharmacy in the Woodlands, you will begin to feel better. Yet after taking it, another health issue (seemingly unrelated) makes you feel even worse. What you are experiencing is a side effect, and it common with prescription drugs. The reason side effects happen is two-fold: first, medications work by suppressing certain natural reactions and bodily systems, which can produce outcomes other than treating your condition. The second reason behind drug side effects is due to the fact that everyone reacts to drugs slightly differently. Yet while drug side effects are common (and often even expected), the question is whether you are able to hold a drug manufacturer liable for having experienced them.
The answer to that question depends on the side effects themselves. Medications are typically not made available until their effects (and side effects) can be identified through clinical trials. Part of the criteria for sending drugs to the market is listing their most common side effects on the drug label. Listing them informs you of the potential adverse effects you may experience by taking the drug, which may be viewed as absolving the drug’s manufacturer of liability. For this reason, drug companies are typically very thorough in listing side effects. Indeed, research information shared by Science Daily shows that the average drug label has over 70 potential side effects listed.
Listing side effects on a label, however, may not completely excuse a manufacturer from responsibility for an adverse reaction. If what experience is related to the side effects listed yet much more pronounced, you may be able to argue that the drug label did not specify such an outcome was possible. The same may be true if a drug cases permanent damage or defects.