How would a person go about filing a lawsuit against the hospitals or doctors who made medication that is bad?

Question

for kids? I was on Depakote, and Paxil at 14 years old but had to go off the Depakote because it damaged my liver permenantly. Blood tests done on me while I was in the mental hospital(Bethesda-Genesis in Zanesville, Ohio USA) confirm my liver is damaged be on repair because of the Depakote. I was on Paxil from 14-15.5 years old, and on Zoloft at 15-15.5 years old. I was also in Fox Run Mental Hospital in Ohio which is on the border of West Virginia and Ohio. The book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" has said that Zoloft and Paxil cause infertility in women. Since I was on these drugs as a teenager against my will, and it has made me infertile, how do I go about filing a lawsuit? Do I have to charge the hospitals I was in, or the people who made the drugs? Also is there any way to comabt the damage that the Zoloft and Paxil have done to my fertility? By the way I'm 21 and hubby is 29.

Answer 1

If you take a known risk and lose, it isn't actionable. You may not have consented to the treatment, but as a minor, your consent wasn't legally relevant. Whoever was your legal guardian must have consented to the treatment, so you're almost certainly SOL. The only way I can think of that you might recover damages would be to prove that consent was not given. By the way, if you were committed by a court order, that would mean you'd be suing the court system itself.

Answer 2

You wrote:

"The book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" has said that Zoloft and Paxil cause infertility in women. Since I was on these drugs as a teenager against my will, and it has made me infertile, how do I go about filing a lawsuit? "

Unless the scientific literature has reached a consensus that drugs like zoloft and paxil cause infertility, you won't win a lawsuit against anyone for producing or prescribing those drugs. The studies I've read don't conclude a causative link between  antidepressants and infertility. the literature does suggest, however, reduced fertility in women with mood disorders. One study found a correlation with increased spontaneous abortion and antidepressants, but not reduced fertilization.You might want to read up on this before pursuing legal action.

Answer 3

First, I am not a lawyer and this should not be considered legal advice.  Further, even if I had the requisite legal knowledge to answer this question, without more facts it would be impossible to do so with any sincerity.  That said... this would make a great Torts or Civil Procedure exam question, so I am intrigued.

Here are some hurdles you will face to get into court:

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS - Depending on where you live your jurisdiction will have different rules for determining when the statute of limitations will run against you (at the time the malpractice occurred? at the time you gained majority? at the time the injury was first detected?) and how long that statute of limitations will run for.  

Usually, for minors, the statute of limitations starts when you turn 18 - when you gain majority.  How long a period you have to sue is really jurisdictional - it might be anywhere from 2 years to 20 years (probably somewhere in the middle though.)

PERSONAL JURISDICTION - It looks like you have multiple defendants (the different hospitals) residing in different states.  This is a problem because you will likely have to file suits in each of those states for the court to be able to drag them into court.  You just doubled your cost.

COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL - The fertility problems you are referring to have likely been sued over many times by many patients against these companies given the widespread use of their products and widespread knowledge of their side-effects.  If this is true the law suits were probably class action and if settlements have already been determined the settlement funds may be dried up and you may be out of luck.      

STANDING - One of the main requirements to sue is constitutional requirement that you have actually suffered injury in fact.  That is, you actually have to have been hurt!  The mere assertion that these drugs affected your fertility would not be sufficient injury.

Say you breeze through these issues...

WHO CAN YOU SUE - Since the drug company route is most heavily affected by the issues above, I think your best bet is suing the doctors who prescribed you this medication for malpractice.  That said, this would be really difficult since it looks like you were dealt these drugs in a mental hospital.  The court gives great deference to these 'specialized institutions and their doctors.  You would have to prove that the doctors who prescribed these things were negligent.  This would require expert testimony from other psychiatrists who would have to refute your mental status 6 years ago with no first hand knowledge of the situation against a doctor who did have first hand knowledge.  This is not easy and is very expensive.  Note: Your parents are usually completely immune from suit for things concerning your medical history done when you were a child even if they didn't look over the risks of the medication and consented negligently.  They still did it with your best interests in mind on the advice of doctors.

EXPENSES - While we're on the topic, usually personal injury lawyers don't charge you to take on and run the trial.  Rather they usually arrange to rake a percentage of the winnings.  That said, personal injury lawyers are picky when taking on cases and rather take on cut and dry cases that are cheap.    

PROCEDURE TO SUE - Step 1: Get a lawyer.  Step 2: Pre-trial information gathering will take place.  You will have to submit to a medical examination most likely.  This means you will have to go in front of yet another psychiatrist who will determine your current mental status as well as another medical doctor who will determine the extent of the injury to your fertility.  Since this is a family show I won't go into details, but know that that procedure will be quite invasive.  

CONCLUSION:  You face a long costly battle if you sue anyone.  Suing the drug companies likely wont pan out due the procedural issues.  Suing the doctors likely won't pan out due to proof issues.  In either case the standing issue is your biggest problem.  Until you actually have fertility problems or have complications during pregnancy, you have no reason to sue in the eyes of the court.  

Good luck though!  And in all seriousness congratulations to you and your husband for getting married and having the forethought to think about pregnancy before it happens.  

On a personal note, I know people who have taken these medications for long periods of time and have had beautiful shining little children with no problems at all.  I wish the same unto you.  God speed.

Answer 4

Contact an attorney who specializes in these types of cases.

Answer 5

These are the sorts of questions you should ask a lawyer.

If he/she thinks you have a valid claim, then they will likely file suit against the doctor who provided you the prescription and potentially the drug manufacturer.

Also, do an internet search and see if there is a current class action lawsuit against the manufacturer that you can join.