Pharmaceutical Litigation

Los Angeles, California, Dangerous Drug Lawsuit Attorney

The Science Board of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which oversees prescription drugs, recently issued a report highlighting the fact that the FDA has failed to do the job required of the agency in an adequate manner. Despite the fact that the world looks to the FDA as a leader in medicine and science, the FDA cannot fulfill its mission because its scientific workforce does not have sufficient capacity and capability. As an unfortunate result, many dangerous prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications are approved for market each year. As a result, American lives are at risk. Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack has successfully represented dozens of people who have become victims of dangerous drugs. Our pharmaceutical litigation lawyers have successfully litigated individual and mass tort lawsuits against many of the largest drug manufacturing corporations in the world.

Vioxx

Vioxx has been linked to an increased risk in heart attacks and strokes. Vioxx has been prescribed to relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, acute pain, painful menstrual cycles and more. After it was uncovered that Merck had failed to disclose the serious risks associated with Vioxx, it was pulled from the market. Unfortunately, Vioxx was taken off the shelves too late for thousands of innocent Americans.

Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack represents dozens of injured individuals in Vioxx lawsuits in California and in the Federal Courts. Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack was selected, based on its experience and expertise, to serve on the Plaintiffs’ Liaison Committee for the California Coordinated Vioxx Litigation.

Due to the hard work of Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack and their partner attorneys across the nation, Merck recently agreed to settle tens of thousands of Vioxx cases for $4.85 billion. This is one of the largest pharmaceutical settlements in history, and it represents a major victory for our clients.

Rezulin

Rezulin (generically called troglitazone) is a prescription medication created by Warner Lambert's Parke-Davis division and designed to treat Type-2 diabetes, that is, a condition "typically found in adults where the body becomes resistant to its own insulin. Even before its public release in 1997, Rezulin was known to pose a serious health risk to its users, causing side effects ranging from mild liver damage to complete liver failure. Because of this, on March 22, 2000, the sale and distribution of Rezulin was voluntarily discontinued at the request of the federal Food and Drug Administration.

Rezulin had been designed to help diabetes patients respond better to insulin. While other sugar (glucose) lowering pills stimulate the pancreas into producing more insulin, Rezulin instead helped the body use its existing insulin more efficiently. As a result, blood glucose control could be improved in people taking Rezulin, while episodes of low blood glucose (hypoglycemia) levels could be reduced.

While there were benefits to the use of Rezulin, the FDA directly attributes numerous liver failure deaths and many additional cases of liver damage to the product.\

Avandia

Avandia is a popular prescription diabetes drug marketed by Glaxo Smith Kline. Avandia has recently been associated with serious cardiovascular side-effects, including heart attacks. Although doctors and patients taking Avandia should have been warned of these risks, they were not. Also, Avandia has been aggressively marketed despite the fact that there are other safer, and cheaper, drugs which can be used to treat Type-2 diabetes with substantially longer safety records than Avandia.

Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack represents individuals who have been harmed by Avandia.

We handle pharmaceutical litigation cases on a contingency basis
We offer a free initial consultation about your pharmaceutical litigation case

If you have been injured because you used a dangerous medication, or have lost a loved one as a result of an unsafe medication, we may be able to help you recover fair compensation. Contact our offices to schedule a consultation with one of our pharmaceutical litigation lawyers.

Learn more about personal injury claims at our Personal Injury FAQ Center.