Prednisone is a corticosteroid drug meant to target swelling, inflammation, and other allergic-type reactions. People can get prescribed prednisone for many different conditions. These include severe allergies, breathing disorders, immune system disorders, arthritis, cancer, and more. This medication comes in pill form, injections, and topical creams.
As with any medication, there are risks associated with taking Prednisone. Unfortunately, this medication sometimes causes serious conditions. Some common injuries associated with Prednisone include: vulnerability to developing infections due to weakened immune response, degenerative disc disease, diabetes, glaucoma, and osteoporosis. Additionally, this medication can become addicting and you usually need to be weaned off of it to avoid serious withdrawal from the medication.
What Are Some Common Prednisone Side Effects?
There can be some major side effects to taking Prednisone that may contribute to the injuries discussed above. Some common side effects associated with Prednisone are:
- Seizures;
- Blurred vision or dizziness;
- Weight gain;
- Mood swings;
- Muscle weakness;
- Aggression or irritability;
- Irregular heartbeat or pulse;
- Breathing difficulties;
- Swelling in the extremities; and
- Headaches.
These side effects are concerning enough to notify your doctor. Less common but severe side effects include things like fainting, vomiting, bloody stools, and skin rash. If any side effects like these or others worry you it is important to contact a doctor for evaluation immediately. Also remember that medication side effects will vary for each person.
Additionally, if any severe complications arise like those noted in the section above it is a good idea to contact a doctor. For example, say you developed diabetes but do not have a family history of this disease, eat well, and exercise. A doctor can help determine if taking Prednisone contributed or caused to the development of your diabetes, as this is one risk factor of taking this medication. However, keep in mind this could prove difficult to link if other risk factors for diabetes are present in your life and medical history.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Prednisone Injuries?
If you have experienced severe injuries or complications arising after taking Prednisone and you think there was something wrong with your medical treatment, you may want to look into legal options. Especially when experiencing serious complications, it is important to look into whether any negligence or other wrongdoing occurred. The types of lawsuits can range from medical malpractice to product liability cases or wrongful death actions.
Prednisone medical malpractice refers to a situation where your doctor who prescribed the medication mishandled your care. In a medical malpractice lawsuit, you will need to prove that your medical provider deviated from the standard of care and as a result you suffered an injury causing damage.
For example, if your doctor misdiagnosed you, prescribed Prednisone when not needed, prescribed the wrong dosage, or ignored your side effects then they could be held liable for medical malpractice. Your resulting injuries would be an important factor in your case and you will need documentation to support this.
Another legal avenue is to file a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company that manufactured the Prednisone you took. This is the proper choice for a lawsuit when there was something wrong with that batch of the drug, i.e. some sort of product defect was present. This would be based upon a products liability cause of action and could be an individual lawsuit or class action. The main elements to prove here are that the medication was defective when manufactured, the manufacturer put the product into the market without any intention for changes to occur, and an injury resulted to the consumer because of this defect.
With a Prednisone class action lawsuit, the drug manufacturers would be liable to the whole class of people who received the tainted medication and sustained injuries. In this instance where a lot of people are affected by the drug, a class action may give a better chance at recovery. However, be aware that class actions can be a lengthy process and will require certification of the class before the case can progress. The plaintiffs would need to show that they sustained injuries resulting from the defective Prednisone that they consumed.
Another potential lawsuit is against your pharmacy and pharmacist that filled your prescription. This is a less common occurrence, but would arise from a situation where you received the wrong medication or incorrect dosage of Prednisone, even when the script was called incorrectly by your physician.
A person’s estate can also file a wrongful death lawsuit if someone died resulting from injuries linked to Prednisone. The estate would have to prove that the death resulted from medical malpractice involving Prednisone that caused injuries leading to death. This can be harder to prove, but in cases of severe complications it is definitely worth a shot to look into this avenue for liability.
What Are the Legal Remedies in a Prednisone Lawsuit?
Depending on how a Prednisone lawsuit progresses, there may be some legal remedies available to you for the injuries suffered. However, one thing to remember is that these lawsuits may be difficult to prove if there is not apparent malpractice in a medical case or there is no clear proof of faulty manufacturing in a products liability case. However, if you have enough evidence to support your claims then you could recover the following remedies:
- Monetary relief for doctor visits, hospital stays, medication, other treatments, surgeries, and any other cost associated with medical treatment stemming from the Prednisone injury;
- Lost wages, which can be for the past and future depending on your situation and severity of the injury’s impact;
- Funeral costs, loss of consortium, loss of household services, pain and suffering, or other related damages where an estate files a lawsuit after someone passes away from injuries linked to Prednisone use.
As noted above, Prednisone can have serious side effects and cause life altering conditions. Because of this, it is important to look at all legal options if you think medical malpractice, product defect, or other negligence related to the medication was the result of your injuries. The remedices above could help with the costs resulting from these issues. However, you should anticipate some defenses, such as follows:
- In a medical malpractice case, that the doctor did not violate the standard of care;
- In a products liability case, that the manufacturer followed all appropriate processes;
- In a wrongful death case, that the person’s death was not caused by the Prednisone but by a separate occurrence or factor;
- Contributory negligence; and
- Filing the case after the statute of limitations passed.
What defenses are available will depend on the facts of your case and your specific state’s laws. It is important to be aware of any potential defenses before filing a lawsuit of moving forward to trial.
Do I Need a Lawyer for Help with a Prednisone Lawsuit?
If you have suffered an injury after being prescribed and taking Prednisone, you should look up a local class action lawyer to review your case. A lawyer can let you know what type of lawsuit to file, your chance of success, any defenses the other side may raise, and what type of remedies you can ask for at trial.
They can represent you in court and attempt settlement on your behalf. A lawyer can also retain any expert witnesses needed to help support your case at trial.
