Pharmaceutical Injury Lawyer in San Diego

Defective Drug Claims Backed by 30 Years of Trial Results

When a drug that was supposed to help you causes serious harm, the path forward can feel overwhelming. Pharmaceutical injury cases pit individual patients against drug manufacturers, pharmacy chains, and healthcare institutions with large legal teams and deep resources. At The McClellan Law Firm, we’ve spent more than 30 years litigating complex personal injury cases in San Diego, building a trial record of more than 150 verdicts and settlements exceeding $1 million each. We bring that same depth of preparation to cases involving dangerous or defective drugs, prescription errors, and pharmacist negligence.

Founding Partner Craig R. McClellan is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only organization limited to the top 100 plaintiff trial lawyers in the United States. The firm earned a Tier 1 ranking in Personal Injury in the 2025 Law Firms list. These aren’t decorative credentials. They reflect a trial record built against formidable opponents, which is exactly what pharmaceutical injury litigation demands.

If you or a family member suffered serious harm from a dangerous or defective drug in San Diego, contact The McClellan Law Firm at (619) 215-1488 for a free initial consultation.

Pharmaceutical Injury Claims We Handle

Drug-related injuries don’t follow a single pattern. The harm may trace back to how a drug was designed, how it was manufactured, how its risks were disclosed, or how it was prescribed and dispensed. We handle pharmaceutical injury claims across all of these categories.

Design Defects
A design defect exists when a drug’s chemical composition makes it inherently dangerous even when manufactured exactly as intended. If the drug itself is the problem, the manufacturer may bear responsibility.

Manufacturing Defects
Production errors, including contamination or incorrect formulation during manufacturing, can make an otherwise properly designed drug unsafe. These defects often come to light through FDA drug recalls or safety communications.

Failure to Warn
Drug manufacturers are required to disclose known risks and side effects in labeling and prescribing information. When they don’t, and a patient is harmed by an undisclosed risk, that failure can form the basis of a claim.

Prescription Errors
Physicians may be liable for ordering the wrong medication, prescribing the wrong dosage, failing to check for drug interactions, or providing improper instructions. These errors can be just as dangerous as the drug itself.

Dispensing Errors
A pharmacist who provides the wrong drug, an incorrect dose, or fails to flag a dangerous interaction may be held accountable for the resulting harm.

Who May Be Liable for a Pharmaceutical Injury

Identifying every responsible party is one of the most consequential decisions in a pharmaceutical injury case. Multiple defendants can be named, and the total compensation available may depend on which parties are held accountable.

California product liability law and pharmaceutical injury claims intersect in important ways. Under California law, strict liability for prescription drugs applies to manufacturing defects and failure to warn. Design defect claims against drug manufacturers, however, are generally evaluated under a negligence standard. Beyond the manufacturer, prescribing physicians, pharmacists, hospitals, and pharmaceutical distributors can each face liability depending on the facts. Hospitals and medical facilities may be responsible for systemic medication management failures. Distributors can face claims when drugs are handled or stored improperly. We examine the full chain of responsibility before building a case strategy.

Craig McClellan’s Product Liability Record

Craig R. McClellan was voted Lawyer of the Year for Product Liability Litigation by Lawyers for 2025. He has been selected to the Super Lawyers list every year since 2007, is listed among America’s Top 100 High-Stakes Litigators in Business Litigation, Personal Injury, and Product Liability, and holds fellowship in the American College of Trial Lawyers and membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates. The McClellan Law Firm is also named among the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers.

Pharmaceutical injury cases require a level of preparation that a high-volume practice can’t deliver. We limit our active caseload to 15 matters at a time, giving each client direct senior-attorney involvement and the depth of preparation that well-resourced pharmaceutical defendants require.

Compensation in a Pharmaceutical Injury Case

The damages available in a pharmaceutical injury claim reflect the full scope of what the injured person has lost. Economic damages can include past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and diminished earning capacity. Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life.

Where the evidence shows that a pharmaceutical company acted with malice, oppression, or fraud, California law allows for punitive damages designed to punish the defendant and deter similar conduct. When a dangerous drug causes a patient’s death, surviving family members may have wrongful death claims. The value of any pharmaceutical injury case turns on the severity of harm, the strength of the liability evidence, and the number of responsible parties we can identify.

Filing Deadlines for Drug Injury Claims in California

California imposes filing deadlines on personal injury and product liability claims, and missing one can bar a claim regardless of how strong the underlying case is. The applicable deadline in a pharmaceutical injury matter can vary depending on whether the claim sounds in product liability, medical malpractice, or involves a government entity, and on when the injury was or reasonably should have been discovered.

Medical records, pharmacy logs, and product documentation also become harder to obtain as time passes. Consulting a San Diego drug injury lawyer early can preserve options and help protect evidence. Don’t wait to find out whether the clock has run.

Talk to a San Diego Pharmaceutical Injury Attorney

If you were harmed by a dangerous or defective drug, a prescription error, or a dispensing mistake, The McClellan Law Firm can evaluate your case. We serve clients throughout San Diego and Southern California and offer a free initial consultation with no obligation to proceed.

Call us at (619) 215-1488 or contact us online to schedule your consultation.