When a person suffers an injury due to a dangerous drug, the people or entities responsible depend on the circumstances in each case. Multiple parties may have liability for the injury, depending on how the drug caused it. In most cases, plaintiffs file dangerous drug cases against either the manufacturer or developer of the medication or someone in the chain of command who prescribed the medication, i.e., doctors, pharmacists, and medical practices. Drug Manufacturers Pharmaceutical companies develop potentially dangerous products to be used by the general public. Because the drugs they create can cause severe injury or death, drug manufacturers are held strictly liable when their product’s design, development, or manufacturing processes are defective and cause injury. Drug manufacturers have a responsibility to test for all possible side effects and damage their medications can cause. If they do not perform thorough testing, they can be liable for unknown side effects that they should have discovered. When pharmaceutical companies engage in unethical practices, like failing to disclose side effects, altering clinical trial results, or pushing doctors to prescribe the medication for unapproved uses, the company may be civilly and criminally responsible for the harm their medications cause. Often, legal cases against drug manufacturers take the form of class action lawsuits. When a prescription drug is known to have side effects that have affected thousands of people, the court system will consolidate these lawsuits into one case that settles the matter for all plaintiffs. These class-action lawsuits can take years to settle but may end with a judgment for millions of dollars against the pharmaceutical company. If the class action lawsuit is successful, the injured plaintiffs will share the recovery according to the terms of the judgment or settlement. Medical Professionals The next people or entities who may be responsible for injuries caused by a dangerous drug are the medical professionals who prescribed it. Doctors treating patients have a legal responsibility to use their medical expertise to prescribe effective and safe medications. They must inform their patients of the potential side effects of a particular medication. The failure to warn a patient of dangerous side effects can be enough to sustain a lawsuit against the doctor. Most doctors work at a medical office or hospital. In some instances, the employer of the doctor who prescribed the medication may also be responsible for the doctor’s negligence. For example, if a hospital knew that its doctors were prescribing a dangerous medication for an unapproved purpose but did not stop it, the hospital and the doctor may have some liability. Finally, the pharmacist who distributed the medication also has a legal responsibility to ensure the medications that a patient is taking are not contraindicated and will not cause harm. If the pharmacist fills a prescription that he or she knows (or should know) will cause an adverse reaction, that pharmacist may be held responsible for their actions in court.