This blog post was written by Rabihah Scott. Ms. Scott is a Maryland accident attorney in the personal injury practice group of Price Benowitz LLP. With offices in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, and New York, the firm handles DUI, criminal, personal injury, and immigration cases. For more information about the firm's personal injury group, please visit our DC Personal Injury Lawyer website.
I was watching TV last night and I saw a commercial for BeYaz, the "new" birth control. It is all about having the freedom to choose what type of birth control you use. The commercial is surprisingly effective, but two things really stood out to me: 1- this is the third version (names, drug compositions, etc) of this drug on the market ; and 2- there sure seems to be a lot of low fast talking endnote disclaimers. Sadly this commercial made me do the one thing I really didn't fell like doing with my Wednesday evening at 9pm, THINK.
It seems that every time a drug gets bad press (namely causing stroke, death, or other major illness), the name seems to change slightly and the fast talking announcer adds about 2 seconds to his speech. It down right sickened me to think that they figure a catchy jingle and a new name can make plenty of women overlook the harm they are doing their body and swallow a pill that puts their health at risk. It also makes me sad that women are falling for it day after day.
I am not saying that I have anything against birth control. Quite frankly I can barely deal with my ovaries, let alone the suggestion that I can have something to say about anyone else's. This is more a tirade about major pharmaceutical corporations and their disregard for human life and health. My issue here is that anything that is put in the hands of consumers and advertised as the best thing since sliced bread should be safe.
Major pharmaceutical companies do this all the time and it's horrendous. What is even more appalling is when the supplements we take to avoid medications and get into better shape are marketed without the same oversight as medicines. Sadly this is a reference to the makers of products like Hydroxy Cut. If a product can help you lose 30 pounds in 30 minutes, but kills you in 2 days, I venture to say that the population of people taking it should at least get the courtesy of a warning about their impending death, and maybe even a skull and cross bones on the bottle.
If you or someone you love believed that the medication that you take is safe, but it actually hurt you, contact a Maryland personal injury attorney. Not only should you be compensated, but you should send a message that your life is worth a lot more than the manufacturer's bottom line.
