The medications that you take should be safe for you to use. Of course, there are some instances in which that wouldn’t be the case for every patient. Some examples of this would be if you have a condition that is considered a contraindication for the drug or if you were taking a drug that would cause an interaction with the new drug.
Medications are sometimes deemed safe for patients to use, but then later have to be pulled from the market because of issues. Those issues might not have been known or documented prior to the approval of the medication by the United States Food and Drug Administration. That is why the FDA continues to monitor drugs even after they are on the market for the general public.
When a drug is prescribed, the doctor takes a host of information into account. The effectiveness of the drug, known side effects and performance compared to other similar drugs are some of the factors that have to be considered. The doctor then has to decide on the dosage, frequency of dosing and duration of treatment.
Even with the considerable thought, research and monitoring that goes into prescription drugs hitting the market, there are times when issues arise later. This leads to a drug being recalled or withdrawn. A recalled product is one that will usually return to the shelves, but a withdrawal means that the manufacturer stops making the drug.
If you were harmed by a drug that was later recalled or withdrawn, you should learn about the options that you have to seek compensation. Prescription drug litigation could be one of those options.
Source: FindLaw, “Why Drugs Get Pulled from the Market,” accessed May 26, 2016
