A jury in New Hampshire awarded 51-year-old Karen Bartlett $21 million in conjunction with a Philadelphia personal injury claim. Bartlett, a New Hampshire native, suffered a terrible burn reaction as a side effect of taking a drug produced by Mutual Pharmaceutical Company, a Philadelphia-based corporation. The drug, sulindac, is an anti-inflammatory. Bartlett took it to deal with recurring shoulder pain.
Two weeks after she began a course of the drug in January 2005, Bartlett began noticing irritation near her eyes and spots on her face. She checked into the hospital in February after developing a feeling like there were "pebbles" behind her eyelids. Doctors diagnosed her with toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS/TEN), a potentially life ending disease that literally burns the skin and mucous membranes. All told, Bartlett was transferred among five different hospitals. 65% of her skin got literally burned off - "inside and out," as her lawyer put it. Even after undergoing 12 operations on her eyes, Bartlett became legally blind. Her attorneys asked for $4.5 million to address her medical bills and lost wages as well as $20 million to $30 million on top of that for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of her life. The $21 million verdict was record setting - $8 million more than a 1993 case in New Hampshire pertaining to an accident at a construction site.
Not all Philadelphia personal injury or medical malpractice cases are this dramatic. But the side effects of prescription medications can cause serious damage to patients. Generally, in order to prove a case of Philadelphia personal injury from a pharmaceutical, a claimant has to show that a drug was unreasonably hazardous and caused significant and serious harm to the patient.
If you or anyone close to you has been injured due to pharmaceutical side effects, it may behoove you to consult a Philadelphia personal injury attorney ASAP to review your rights and obligations under PA law. Building a case against a major drug company, hospital, or medical group can be quite complicated and technical, so it's essential that you get good guidance as you pave the way to make a claim.
The attorneys at Rosenbaum & Associates have the experience, track record and compassion you need to explore strategies to get compensated and allow you to turn your full attention to your rehabilitation. Connect with them today by calling 1-800-7-LEGAL-7, or review www.rosenbaumandassociates.com to explore more about the firm's history, philosophy and credentials.
