Millions of people take prescription drugs every day, but there is a lot about these drugs they might not know. Below are five things that every consumer should know about prescription drugs:

1. Off-label uses are common. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) thoroughly reviews clinical trials and studies before it approves a drug for a particular use. However, doctors often use drugs approved for one disease to treat another on an experimental basis. For example, Topomax is an anticonvulsant approved to treat seizures, but it is routinely prescribed by psychiatrists and general practitioners for depression and bipolar disorder. This practice is called “off-label” use.
2. Off-label uses can be dangerous. Good doctors weigh the risks and benefits of prescription drug use. Under certain circumstances, off-label uses can be beneficial to patients. It is now common knowledge that aspirin lowers the risk of heart disease, and doctors prescribed it for just this purpose many years before the FDA approved such treatment. On the other hand, off-label uses can be dangerous and even deadly. For example, doctors prescribed a cocktail of drugs, Aranesp, Epogen, and Procrit, to treat anemia in a wide variety of cancer patients, though they were only approved for patients undergoing chemotherapy. Scientists later found that these drugs may in fact worsen cancer and reduce chances for survival.
3. Drug companies aggressively market off-label uses for drugs. Doctors do not invent off-label uses all on their own. Big Pharma have shamelessly promoted off-label uses for years. Major drug companies make false and misleading claims about their drugs in promotional material, train sales departments to advertise off-label uses, and even pay doctors to promote such uses in articles, studies, and speeches. It is no surprise that drug companies have successfully deceived doctors and patients alike and reaped billions of dollars in profits as a result.
4. Drug companies may be held responsible for injuries from off-label uses. Off-label marketing is illegal, and sometimes the government steps in to hold drug companies liable. In 2009, Pfizer agreed to a $2.3 billion dollar settlement for its off-label marketing of four drugs, including the arthritis drug Bextra. This included a $1.3 billion dollar criminal penalty, the largest criminal fine in United States history.
5. Individual plaintiffs can obtain compensation for their suffering. Off-label uses can lead to terrible injuries, and individuals can obtain compensation for their suffering. Many medications, including Topomax, Infuse, Cymbalta, and Zoloft are frequently prescribed off-label despite their serious side effects.

If you have taken a medication off-label and suffered an injury, you should contact an attorney to discuss your case. He or she will be able to assess your history and tell you whether you have a viable case.

+Jack Meyerson