Miralax Attorneys: Helping Families Fight Back Against Bayer

Millions of American families use non-prescription laxative Miralax to treat childhood constipation. Tragically, according to FDA reports, thousands of children are suffering from disruptive side effects after taking the drug. Many of these complaints describe neuropsychiatric complications, such as seizures, disturbing personality shifts, and speech problems. Parents who say they were never warned of the drug’s risks to their children are now working with Miralax attorneys to file suit against Bayer, blaming the manufacturer for negligence, failure to warn, and manufacturing defects.

Why Bayer Faces Lawsuits Over Miralax

Parents across the nation say their children were harmed by Miralax because manufacturers failed to properly warn the public of the drug’s potential side effects. Without full disclosure of possible adverse effects, consumers are robbed of their right to protect themselves and their families by making informed choices about the risks they’re willing to take in selecting medications.

Especially when even medical professionals aren’t given enough information on a drug to provide reliable counsel to patients, as plaintiffs allege is the case with Miralax, consumers can unknowingly expose themselves to serious risks and suffer injuries that could have been avoided, if the manufacturer had followed through on its obligations to sufficiently inform the public.

Because they believe Bayer, as well as previous manufacturers of Miralax (including Braintree Laboratories, Inc., the company that originally developed Miralax) are directly responsible for the pain, suffering, and loss their families were forced to endure after taking the drug, plaintiffs insist that the companies should be held accountable and grant considerable compensation to victims.

Can Miralax Attorneys Achieve Justice For Victims?

Seeking legal action against major drug corporations like Bayer is a daunting task that potential victims of Miralax would be ill-advised to take on without the support of experienced legal counsel.

Most powerful, internationally-successful companies are highly familiar with fighting legal battles with consumers and sink considerable resources into hiring top defense attorneys to stand up for them in court. If you file a Miralax lawsuit without a trusted lawyer at your side, you could be putting your case at a significant disadvantage.

You may not get the chance to plead your case in court, as defendant corporations and their legal defense will commonly try to get consumer lawsuits dismissed immediately, before they can even proceed to trial. A seasoned product liability lawyer, drawing on extensive experience with typical defense tactics in drug litigation, would be able to assist by:

• Helping you decide whether to file individually or via class action.
• Drawing up the strongest initial case possible for you
• Assisting you in navigating through pre-trial procedures
• Lending valuable guidance for rebutting any orders for dismissal
• Fighting for you in court if your case goes to trial
• If resolving through settlement, negotiating a fair settlement agreement

If you’re hesitant to contact a lawyer because you think you can’t afford to hire one, you may be relieved to know that you can find lawyers who won’t require you to pay any fees while your case is still in progress. Many attorneys in product liability, knowing that victims of defective drugs will likely already be burdened by medical bills and other considerable expenses related to their injuries, are compassionate enough to work on contingency. This means you’ll pay only after your attorney has resolved your case and secured compensation for you.

Choosing A Lawyer

Though there may be many personal injury lawyers taking case evaluations for victims of “dangerous drugs,” it’s vital to select one whose credentials and experience best suit your case.  Here are 3 major steps to follow in finding and hiring an attorney:

• Compiling a list of suitable candidates. Most legal firms, in addition to running ads and TV commercials to reach out to potential clients, maintain professional websites, so you can do a simple Google search to find suitable candidates. There are also a number of large, reputable online legal directories that have easy-to-use search functions. One of the most popular is Avvo.com, where you can narrow search results by location, legal specialty, years of experience, and other useful filters. You can also find attorneys through an official state bar association (search for your state’s bar association here) or through personal referrals from your friends and family.

• Checking track records. After you’ve narrowed down your list based on relevant experience and other desirable qualities, it’s a good idea to dig a little deeper on the remaining candidates. For example, most lawyers will provide a history of their track record in court, usually displayed in a section on their websites titled “Verdicts” or “Results.” Another important consideration is the attorney’s public record. You can make sure that your lawyer has an up-to-date licence and hasn’t been cited for misconduct by searching for him / her on your state’s attorney discipline organization.

• Conducting phone or in-person interviews.  It’s best to set up interviews as soon as you can, because consultations where you speak person-to-person with a lawyer will provide you with crucial information, both about the candidate and about your potential case, that will help you greatly in making decisions. Be prepared to share details about your case with the attorneys you interview, so that they’ll be able to give you a proper evaluation and tell you how they would proceed if you hired them.

In making your final decision, be sure to weigh not only professional details like credentials, track record, and case evaluation, but also how comfortable you feel when speaking and interacting personally with each candidate. It’s important to choose someone you feel you can really trust and work well with, as you’ll be working closely with your lawyer for duration of your case.

Assisting Your Lawyer In Building Your Case

To help your lawyer lay down a strong case for you, try to share as many details of your experience with Miralax as you can:

• Duration that you or your child took Miralax. Try your best to remember when you started taking Miralax, for how long you took the drug, and when you stopped taking it.
• Why you started Miralax.  Did you see a Miralax commercial on TV? Did your doctor or pediatrician give you a recommendation? It could be helpful also, if you can obtain a copy of any print ads, brochures, or labeling that convinced you to use the drug.
• Side Effects. When did you start encountering side effects? Describe them in as much detail as possible.  Have the side effects subsided after discontinuation of the drug?
• Doctor reports. Any reports or statements from doctors could help tremendously in building support for your case, especially if it’s from a doctor who you’ve been seeing for many years. A doctor can describe the general state of health of you or your child, any changes that could possibly stem from the effects of Miralax, and his / her opinion on the origin of the complications in question.

It’s best to share any possibly relevant detail, even if you’re not sure whether or not it will help your case. You can trust that your attorney will know from experience which details will serve to strengthen a case and how to best present the material you provide.

Explore Your Legal Options As Soon As Possible

Above all, it’s crucial to act quickly and get your case evaluated if you or your family members have been harmed by Miralax. If you wait too long, you may not be permitted to file a Miralax lawsuit, as every state enforces a “statute of limitations”—a set period of time within which individuals are allowed to file suit regarding a given incident.

You can check your state’s statute of limitations for various types of legal claims in this chart by Nolo.com, but keep in mind that the laws governing when you can file a lawsuit can be extremely complex. For example, statutes of limitations vary not only by state, but by the type of claim you will file—which you may not know until you speak with a lawyer. Also, you may be able to request an extension to the statute of limitations corresponding to your injury by invoking the “discovery rule.”  This law enables plaintiffs to file “late” if they had insufficient information to know the precise cause of their injury within the SoL period and thus couldn’t file earlier.

In any case, it’s safest to contact a lawyer as soon as you can to get answers about your potential lawsuit. Even just one quick case evaluation can help you tremendously in understanding your rights and options.

Continue Reading: Xarelto Lawsuits: DVT & PE Patients Pursue Compensation