Damages in Defective Drug Cases: Understanding the Value of Your Claim

Defective drugs can cause serious complications that can have major (and, in some cases, life-changing) impacts on patients’ lives. As a result, if you have been harmed by a defective drug, it will be critical to ensure that you have a clear understanding of your legal rights. This includes ensuring that you have a clear understanding of how much you deserve to recover.

Understanding your legal rights involves working with an experienced defective drug lawyer. Defective drug cases are unique in many ways, so experienced legal representation is essential. If you have a claim, an experienced defective drug lawyer will be able to accurately calculate the value of your claim so that you can make an informed decision about whether to take legal action.

3 Types of Damages in Defective Drug Cases

Damages in defective drug cases fall into three broad categories. The first two categories of damages are available in all cases, while the third category is only available in cases involving particularly egregious corporate misconduct.

1. Economic Damages in Defective Drug Cases

Economic damages cover the direct financial costs of suffering harm caused by a defective drug. If you have a defective drug claim, you are entitled to economic damages covering your past, present, and future out-of-pocket losses. In a typical case, this will include:

• Bills for all necessary medical care
• Bills for therapy and rehabilitation
• Additional medications and other out-of-pocket costs
• Lost earnings
• Lost future earning capacity

For some patients, the consequences of taking a defective drug will last a lifetime. If you have a claim and you are facing a lifetime of costs, these are all costs that you can—and should—seek to recover. When you hire an experienced defective drug lawyer to represent you, your lawyer will work with you, your doctors, and medical and financial experts as necessary to ensure that he or she has a clear and comprehensive understanding of the financial losses that need to be included in your claim.

2. Non-Economic Damages in Defective Drug Cases

Non-economic damages cover the various other ways that taking a defective drug impacts your life. While these impacts are not financial in nature, financial compensation is available to patients who have suffered harm that could—and should—have been prevented.

Here, too, patients can seek financial compensation for their past, present, and future losses. In a typical case, this will include compensation for losses such as:

• Physical pain and suffering
• Emotional trauma
• Post-traumatic stress
• Loss of consortium and companionship
• Loss of enjoyment of life

There are specific methods for calculating non-economic damages, and the amount any individual patient will be entitled to recover will depend on his or her specific circumstances. When you hire an experienced defective drug lawyer to represent you, your lawyer will rely on his or her experience to help ensure that you are seeking the full compensation you deserve.

3. Punitive Damages in Defective Drug Cases

While economic and non-economic damages are intended to compensate patients for their losses, punitive damages are intended to punish pharmaceutical companies for particularly egregious conduct. In most cases, this involves intentionally ignoring or covering up known risks in order to bring defective drugs to market.

But it can involve various other forms of corporate misconduct as well. For example, if a pharmaceutical company discovers an issue with one of its drugs after bringing it to market and chooses not to conduct a recall, this may provide grounds to pursue a claim for punitive damages. When assessing your legal rights, your defective drug lawyer will be able to determine whether a claim for punitive damages is warranted.

Calculating the Value of Your Defective Drug Claim

As you can see, if you have a defective drug claim, the damages you are entitled to recover are unique to you. When determining the value of your claim, your lawyer will consider factors such as:

• Your Diagnosis Related to the Drug Defect – Your diagnosis is among the most important factors for determining how much you are entitled to recover. Not only will your diagnosis play a major role in determining your out-of-pocket costs, but it will also be key to assessing your non-economic damages.
• Your Prognosis – Along with your diagnosis, your long-term prognosis is also a key factor. Knowing what you can expect in the future is critical to ensuring you do not settle for less than you deserve.
• Your Income and Employment History – If you have a claim for lost earnings and lost future earning capacity, your current income and employment history will be key factors for assessing this portion of your claim. Your lawyer can obtain your employment records from your employer if necessary.
• The Effects of Your Diagnosis on Your Daily Life – Your daily pain levels, activities, and events you are forced to miss, and the impacts of your diagnosis on your relationships with your spouse or partner and other loved ones are all relevant factors for calculating your non-economic damages.
• Any Evidence of Corporate Misconduct – Any evidence of corporate misconduct will be critical for determining whether a claim for punitive damages is warranted. Your lawyer can seek to obtain this evidence through the litigation process.

These are just examples. When assessing your legal rights, it is important to carefully consider all relevant facts and circumstances. With this in mind, if you think you might have a defective drug claim, you should talk to an experienced lawyer about your situation in confidence.

Need to Know More? Schedule a Free Consultation with a Defective Drug Lawyer at Searcy Denney

Do you need to know more about seeking financial compensation for the consequences of taking a defective drug? If so, we strongly encourage you to get in touch. We have decades of experience and represent patients nationwide. To speak with an experienced defective drug lawyer at Searcy Denney in confidence, call us at 800-780-8607 or request a free consultation online today.