Legal Question in Civil Litigation in North Carolina

I was involved in an accident 2 days ago, 1 minute, approximately 50 yards away from dropping my wife off for work. The Police, EMS and Doctors have demised that I blacked-out. My first response after coming too was where am I & what just happened? I also wondered if someone had hit me. To make a long story short, my insurance company informed me that their investigation has determined that my medication is at fault. The particular medication involved does not have any disclaimer stating drowsiness or any other warnings, nor does it suggest taking at bedtime. Three parked cars were involved, creamed by me. Thank goodness no one was hurt except me. Do I have a case against the manufacturer of the medication or filler of my prescription?


Asked on 5/28/10, 7:50 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Rachel Hunter

It depends. I need much more information. In short, your insurance company is not a doctor. Nor am I. You need to discuss the medication with your doctor and determine whether a black-out is one of the possible side effects for someone in your condition. You also need to make sure there are no other causes of your loss of consciousness. If this was not disclosed to you, you may have a defective drug case and yes, you could sue the manufacturer of the drug. There are time limits for doing so, so do not wait. You generally must bring an action within 3 years, N.C. Gen. Stat. � 1-52, but there is a "statute of repose" or cutoff period that runs from the time you first ingested the drug. The cut-off period is 12 years. N.C. Gen. Stat. � 1-46.1.

After you speak to your doctor, talk to a products liability lawyer that handles defective drugs. The problem that you face is that if there were no real damages, it is not going to be worthwhile to pursue a legal action against the drug maker.

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Answered on 5/28/10, 11:52 am


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