Prescription and over-the-counter medications are supposed to help, not harm. But when a drug causes serious side effects or long-term health issues that were not properly disclosed, victims have the right to take legal action.
Filing a drug injury lawsuit allows you to seek compensation and hold pharmaceutical companies accountable, but most people have no idea what the process looks like.
Drug injury lawsuits are complex, often involving medical records, scientific data, and massive corporate defense teams. If you’ve suffered harm due to a dangerous drug, a Dallas personal injury lawyer can guide you through the steps ahead and make the process feel less overwhelming and more empowering.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of what happens in a typical drug injury lawsuit.
Step 1: Seek Medical Attention and Document Everything
Your health comes first. If you believe a drug caused you harm, the first step is to seek medical treatment immediately. Even if the symptoms seem mild at first, it’s crucial to document them, follow your doctor’s advice, and get your condition on record.
This documentation will serve two purposes:
- It protects your health by ensuring you receive the appropriate care
- It creates a paper trail linking your injury to the drug in question
Start collecting everything: medical records, prescriptions, lab results, pharmacy information, and even photos or journals showing your symptoms over time. These details can become key evidence later in the legal process. Choosing the right lawyer for you means finding someone who knows how to turn this documentation into a strong case and who can explain the legal process clearly from the beginning.
Step 2: Speak to a Drug Injury Lawyer
Drug injury cases are not like ordinary personal injury claims. They often involve complex science, corporate defendants, and extensive documentation. Speaking to an attorney experienced in drug litigation is critical.
During your free consultation, your attorney will:
- Listen to your story and ask questions about your health, medications, and timeline
- Determine if the drug is currently under investigation or part of a broader litigation effort
- Explain your rights and potential legal options
At Ferrer Poirot Feller, we’ve helped thousands of people across the U.S. take on large drug manufacturers. If we take your case, it means we believe in its strength, and you won’t pay us anything unless we recover compensation for you.
Step 3: Case Review and Investigation
Once you decide to move forward, your legal team will begin a deeper investigation. This includes:
- Reviewing your full medical history and how the drug affected you
- Identifying the manufacturer and drug formulation
- Consulting medical experts to link your injury to the drug
- Researching internal studies, safety warnings, and FDA history of the drug
This phase is vital to determine whether you have a strong case and whether the manufacturer may be held liable for failing to warn consumers, concealing risks, or producing a defective drug.
In many drug injury cases, attorneys also coordinate with national litigation teams or join mass actions if the drug has harmed thousands of people in a similar way. Call a lawyer to find out if your case may be part of a larger effort—and what your legal options look like.
Step 4: Filing the Lawsuit
After the investigation is complete and your legal team has gathered enough evidence, they’ll officially file the lawsuit in the appropriate jurisdiction. The complaint will outline:
- The drug involved and the injuries it caused
- The legal basis for holding the manufacturer accountable
- The damages you are seeking (medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc.)
Once the lawsuit is filed, the pharmaceutical company and its attorneys are notified. They’ll have a chance to respond, usually by denying responsibility or attempting to dismiss the case. This kicks off the formal litigation process. Injury lawyers help victims navigate this stage by pushing back against corporate defenses and keeping your case on track.
Step 5: The Discovery Phase
Discovery is one of the most time-intensive stages of a drug injury lawsuit. This is when both sides exchange evidence and begin building their case.
Your attorney may request:
- Company emails, safety reports, and internal studies from the manufacturer
- Depositions (sworn statements) from company scientists, executives, and employees
- Testimony from medical professionals about how the drug affected you
- Evidence from other lawsuits or public records related to the drug
In return, the manufacturer’s legal team may ask for additional details from your side, including more medical records, employment history, or background. Your Dallas personal injury lawyer will guide you through every step to protect your rights.
Step 6: Settlement Negotiations
Not every case goes to trial. In fact, most drug injury lawsuits are resolved through settlement negotiations. If the manufacturer believes your case is strong—or if there are multiple similar claims pending—they may choose to settle rather than risk losing in court.
A settlement offer may include compensation for:
- Medical expenses (past and future)
- Lost income or reduced earning ability
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Long-term disability or loss of quality of life
Your lawyer will negotiate for the highest possible settlement based on your damages. You’re never required to accept an offer. If the settlement doesn’t reflect your needs or the seriousness of your injuries, the case may continue to trial. Why do you need a lawyer? Because pharmaceutical companies don’t hand out fair compensation easily—your attorney fights to make sure you’re not pressured into settling for less than you deserve.
Step 7: Going to Trial (If Necessary)
If no fair settlement is reached, your case will move to trial. Drug injury trials can be complex, often involving expert testimony, scientific evidence, and corporate defense tactics.
At trial, your legal team will present:
- Evidence of how the drug harmed you
- Proof that the manufacturer failed to warn or properly test the drug
- Medical testimony linking your injury to the drug
- A full breakdown of your damages and how they’ve affected your life
The manufacturer will present its own defense, and a jury will ultimately decide whether they’re liable—and if so, how much they must pay.
While trials are less common, Ferrer Poirot Feller is always prepared to take your case to court when it matters.
Step 8: What Happens After a Settlement or Verdict?
If your case results in a successful settlement or trial verdict, the compensation process begins. In most cases, funds are disbursed after:
- Legal fees and case expenses are deducted
- Medical liens (if any) are addressed
- The remaining funds are issued directly to you
Your lawyer will ensure that the disbursement process is smooth and that you understand every step. If you were part of a larger group litigation or multidistrict litigation (MDL), your settlement may follow a specific distribution formula based on your injuries. Lawyers can help maximize your compensation by making sure every eligible damage is accounted for and that you receive the full amount you’re owed.
This final step closes the chapter, but it also provides accountability and financial relief as you move forward.
How Long Does a Drug Injury Lawsuit Take?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Some cases resolve in a matter of months, especially if a settlement is reached early. Others may take a year or more, particularly if they go to trial or involve complex medical issues.
Factors that influence the timeline include:
- Whether the drug is already part of ongoing litigation
- The strength of the evidence
- The willingness of the manufacturer to settle
- Court schedules and procedural delays
Your legal team should keep you informed throughout the process, answer questions, and help you feel confident in your decisions.
What Types of Drug Injuries Qualify for a Lawsuit?
Not all side effects justify legal action. But if the drug caused severe or unexpected harm—and that harm was not clearly disclosed or preventable—you may have a strong case.
Qualifying injuries can include:
- Heart attacks or strokes
- Cancer diagnoses
- Organ damage (kidney, liver, etc.)
- Bleeding disorders
- Birth defects or pregnancy complications
- Severe allergic reactions
- Neurological conditions
- Death
If you’re unsure whether your condition qualifies, a free consultation can help you get clarity and next steps. Drug injury lawyers can review your case, explain your rights, and help determine if you’re eligible to file a claim.
What Makes Ferrer Poirot Feller Different?
When you file a drug injury lawsuit, you’re not just filing paperwork—you’re going up against a multibillion-dollar company with vast resources. At Ferrer Poirot Feller, we’ve spent decades fighting for clients injured by unsafe medications, defective medical devices, and corporate negligence.
Our firm offers:
- National representation for drug injury victims
- A track record of holding pharmaceutical companies accountable
- Free case evaluations and no fees unless we win
- Personalized attention from attorneys who understand the physical, emotional, and financial toll of drug injuries
You focus on healing. We’ll focus on the fight.
Who Are You Suing in a Drug Injury Lawsuit?
In most drug injury cases, you aren’t suing your doctor or pharmacist—you’re going after the drug manufacturer. These are massive corporations that design, market, and distribute medications to millions of people across the country.
Defendants in drug lawsuits often include:
- Pharmaceutical giants like Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, GSK, and AbbVie
- Smaller manufacturers with a history of recalls or FDA warnings
- Companies involved in producing or marketing generic drugs with undisclosed risks
These companies have full-time legal teams, public relations experts, and deep pockets. They may deny responsibility, downplay injuries, or blame other factors entirely. You may still be eligible for compensation, even if the manufacturer refuses to accept fault—strong evidence and experienced legal support can make all the difference.
You’re not alone—but you need a team that knows how to fight back.
Why You Need a Lawyer in a Drug Injury Case
Taking on a pharmaceutical company is not something you can do alone, and you shouldn’t have to. These are high-stakes, high-resistance cases that require deep legal knowledge, access to medical experts, and experience with mass tort or complex litigation strategy.
A drug injury lawyer can:
- Gather and preserve medical evidence
- Investigate drug approval history, warnings, and clinical trials
- Identify scientific proof linking your injury to the drug
- Join or coordinate with national MDL or class-action efforts
- Handle negotiations, court filings, and expert witness preparation
Most importantly, your attorney protects your rights and levels the playing field. With Ferrer Poirot Feller, you get more than legal counsel—you get an advocate who won’t stop fighting until justice is served.
Can You Still File a Lawsuit if the Drug Is Still on the Market?
A drug doesn’t have to be recalled or banned for you to have a case. In fact, many dangerous medications remain on the market for years, even after reports of harm.
You may still have a valid lawsuit if:
- The manufacturer failed to warn about serious risks
- The label was misleading or incomplete
- Safer alternatives were available
- The drug caused injuries far more severe than expected
- You were not properly informed of side effects
The FDA allows drugs to remain available even when new risks come to light, but manufacturers are still responsible for making those risks clear. If they didn’t, you may be entitled to compensation.
What If You’re Not the Only One Harmed?
If the same drug has harmed many people, your lawsuit may become part of state or federal actions against the manufacturer for widespread harm
You don’t lose your voice in these cases. You still have your own attorney and your own claim. But these coordinated efforts help streamline the process and may lead to stronger settlements or verdicts.
Ferrer Poirot Feller is experienced in large-scale drug litigation, and we’ll ensure your story is heard, no matter how big the case gets.
You Only Have a Limited Time to File
Every state has a statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits, including drug injuries. Depending on where you live and when the injury occurred, you may only have 1–3 years to file your claim.
Missing the deadline could mean losing your right to recover anything.
The sooner you speak with a Dallas personal injury lawyer, the better. We can help you:
- Determine your legal timeline
- Secure medical records and pharmacy data
- Identify the drug manufacturer
- File your claim before the clock runs out
Don’t wait until symptoms worsen or your case becomes harder to prove. The best time to act is now.
Contact Us for a Free Drug Injury Case Review
If you were seriously harmed by a prescription or over-the-counter medication, don’t wait. Evidence can disappear, deadlines can pass, and pharmaceutical companies won’t take action unless they’re forced to.
At Ferrer Poirot Feller, we’re here to help you understand your rights, explore your legal options, and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Call us at (866) 720-9962 or contact us online to schedule your free consultation. You didn’t choose to be harmed by a drug, but you can choose to take action now.