Drug Trial in France Leaves Six People Hospitalized
By: Cohen, Placitella & Roth @ Mar 01, 2016
The worst possible outcome in drug trial experiment is injury to participants. The situation is so egregious that it rarely occurs; medical studies that could cause serious harm are normally first performed on animals. But in January 2016, a drug trial in northern France left six study participants hospitalized, one of them brain dead, and a total of three with potentially irreversible brain damage. The horrible accident is being called unprecedented.
What Went Wrong
According to an article published in The New York Times, the drug that study participants were taking was an experimental medication manufactured by a Portuguese company. The drug is designed to treat motor problems and anxiety and mood disorders that are associated with neurodegenerative diseases. There were 128 participants involved in the study – 90 were given the drug, the other 38 a placebo.
It is not known exactly what went wrong. According to the article, the drug was first tested on animals. The six men who experienced such dramatic adverse events had received the medication multiple times, beginning on the fourth of January. By the 15th, all six of the men were in the hospital. Of course, the trial was immediately halted as a result. The institution conducting the drug trial was both private and licensed.
How Common Is Serious Harm in Drug Trials?
As stated above, it is not common for serious harm to befall participants of drug trials. In 2006, men in London were placed in critical care after severe damage to their immune systems occurred during a drug trial, caused by an immune-stimulant drug. Daniel P. Carpenter, a professor at Harvard, told reporters for The Times that toxicity deaths are extremely rare in the first phases of drug trials. In fact, the last time that deaths were reported were in early trials for medications to treat AIDS.
You Have Legal Rights if a Drug Harms You
If a drug harms you, you have legal rights. You may file a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the drug, the drug distributor, or a doctor or pharmacist depending upon where negligence lies. Damages recoverable may include compensation for medical bills, lost wages, emotional anguish, physical pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life or other abilities. An attorney can help you to file your suit in a timely manner.
Defective Pharmaceutical Attorneys Ready to Serve You
The experienced Pennsylvania and New Jersey defective pharmaceutical attorneys of the law firm of Cohen, Placitella & Roth, P.C. are ready to serve you. We will do everything that we can to help you recover the compensation you deserve when you are wrongly harmed by a defective drug. An incident like the one described above should never happen – if it does, call us first for legal representation you can trust.
To schedule a free case consultation with our attorneys and to learn more about your legal rights, call our offices today at (215) 567-3500.
