Sometimes, a product that seems to work miracles can turn out to be a double-edged sword. To add to that worry, most warning statements included with drug products these days seem to include every possible symptom conceivable without really providing precise or complete enough information for people to make an informed choice. A major New Jersey based drug manufacturer is now on the receiving end of a products liability suit in which a man is claiming that a hair prescription treatment made by the company caused him sexual dysfunction and an increased risk of incurring other conditions.
The suit claims that the male baldness drug is a dangerous product that causes and contributes to an increased risk of serious side effects such as depression, mental impairment and infertility. It charges that the drug manufacturer changed its warnings in other countries to reflect new information on the increased dangers of the drug but violated Food and Drug Administration rules by not updating the warnings in the United States. It also claims that the defective product was unreasonably dangerous to those using it and not suited for its intended use.
The suit includes other claims commonly raised in such litigation, including for strict liability. The legal principle of strict liability allows a claimant to collect even if the manufacturer or seller of the product was not negligent. If the manufacturer or seller put an unreasonably dangerous product on the market without adequate warnings, and if it is used in the way it was intended to be used, liability is imposed even if negligence cannot be proved.
In New Jersey as well as in other jurisdictions, the complexities of claims involving dangerous products require early consultation with an experienced products liability practitioner. A thorough investigation of all of the facts will be made. The facts will be evaluated in light of the applicable legal principles, and if an action is allowable, a strategy will be designed to maximize the products liability claim according to its own particular circumstances.
Source: Pennsylvania Record, “Merck faces products liability claim over failure to properly warn of Propecia side effects,” Jon Campisi, Feb. 15, 2013
