The American Association for Justice has released a new report detailing the history of women being negatively impacted by dangerous drugs and medical devices. The report, entitled From Accutane to Zonite: A History of Dangerous Drugs & Devices Marketed to Women, showcases how women have, historically, been disproportionately affected by dangerous drugs and medical devices. Many drugs and medical products are marketed specifically to women, such as certain acne drugs or antidepressants. Others are specifically created and marketed to contend with female-only medical issues, like pregnancy.
The report also details how the civil justice system is often the ultimate fail safe for dangerous drugs and medical devices. Safety checks, such as approval processes at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are, unfortunately, not always as discerning as they could be, especially with drugs and products designed or marketed to female populations.
Civil litigation can save women’s lives
Dangerous medical products, such as transvaginal mesh or power morcellators, have long plagued women's healthcare options. When the FDA expedites approval, there are often quality control issues and harmful or deadly health risks that are simply overlooked due to lack of proper oversight from governmental agencies and pharmaceutical corporations. This timely American Association of Justice (AAJ) report highlights decades upon decades of gender inequalities in prescribing and providing safe medical care. Because of the legal recourse afforded to them by civil litigation, women have been empowered to fight back against substandard medical products, care, and drugs. The report spans from the 1880s to the present.
Julie Braman Kane, who serves as President of AAJ, weighs in. “This timely report sheds light on the disturbing ways women have been preyed upon by corporations in the name of profit,” she says. “More than a century of gender inequality in research and unhindered corporate greed continue to put women at risk of exposure to dangerous drugs and medical devices. We must protect women’s access to justice to ensure they can end their silent suffering and hold corporations accountable when corporations refuse to put Americans’ safety first.”
The House of Representatives is currently entertaining a bill, H.R. 1215, that would give blanket immunity to corporations who market and sell these dangerous drugs and devices if they were at any point approved by the FDA. Even if they were later determined to be dangerous, the blanket immunity would still stand. This report goes a long way in showcasing why this pending legislation is deleterious to American citizens.
If you or someone you love has suffered because of a dangerous medical product or drug, the experienced Ohio and Kentucky medical malpractice attorneys of Crandall & Pera Law are here to help you. We can discuss your case with you and fight for maximum compensation. You are welcome to call our Ohio legal team at 877.686.8879, our Kentucky team at 877.651.7764, or complete our contact form today.