Dangerous drug or medical device injury in Dallas: reports, federal court and Texas rules

For a bad reaction or overdose happening now, call the North Texas Poison Center at Parkland, 1-800-222-1222. Then report it to FDA MedWatch. Patients can file it themselves, and doctors do not have to. In Texas, an FDA-approved label gets a presumption of no liability on warnings, and you generally have 2 years to sue.

Last checked November 9, 2026 · Official sources (36)

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Map of Dallas showing Harry Hines Boulevard, where Parkland is, and Commerce Street, where the federal court sits
Texas presumes FDA-approved drug warnings were enough. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Who do you call in Dallas if a drug or device may have hurt you?

For poisoning, a bad reaction or a possible overdose, call the North Texas Poison Center. It is located at Parkland Health in Dallas. For everything else, call your doctor or go to an emergency room. Dallas has three Level I trauma centers: Parkland, Baylor University Medical Center and Methodist Dallas Medical Center.

Do not stop a medicine suddenly because you read a recall notice. Stopping can be more harmful. Compare your label and lot number to the notice, and know that many recalls are not on FDA.gov or in the news.

What should you save after a drug or device injury?

  1. Keep the bottle, box, package insert and lot number. Keep the device and any card or paperwork that came with it.
  2. Photograph the label, the device and any injury or scar.
  3. Request your records. Parkland's office is at 5200 Harry Hines Blvd., Suite 01-603, and Baylor Scott & White uses HealthMark Group online.
  4. Report it to FDA MedWatch. A patient can file the MedWatch report online without help.
  5. Write down dates: when you started the drug or got the implant, and when symptoms began.

Who can you sue over a drug or device in Dallas?

SituationWhat the law says
Brand-name drug warningsThe maker is responsible for its label at all times.
Generic drugFederal law requires the label to match the brand, and warning-based claims have been pre-empted.
High-risk device (premarket approved)Common-law safety claims are barred.
Device cleared through 510(k)The process looks at equivalence to an existing device, not safety.
A drug with an FDA-approved label, under Texas lawPresumed adequate on warnings. Withholding information from the FDA or promoting an unapproved use can rebut it.
Your doctor or hospitalA health care claim needs written notice 60 days before suit.

A federal appeals court found the fraud-on-the-FDA exception pre-empted in a Texas case. For a drug or device, Texas's statute on design defects does not apply. These are lawyer questions. Ask the right ones early.

How does the federal court in Dallas handle device injury cases?

Many device cases from across the country are pooled before one judge for pretrial work. In re DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL 3:11-md-02244, has been run from the Northern District of Texas, with trials starting in 2014. The Dallas court is at 1100 Commerce Street.

Vaccine injuries go through a no-fault federal program, and COVID-19 vaccines through a different one. Those are not lawsuits in a Dallas court.

How long do I have to sue over a drug or device in Texas?

Generally 2 years. For a child under 18, that clock waits. Texas also has a 15-year cutoff after the product was sold, with an exception for slow-developing disease. A fault share above 50 percent bars a Texas recovery.

Medicare must be repaid from a settlement for any care it paid for.

Questions

Does a recall mean I can sue?

No. A recall removes a product from the market. Reports of problems alone cannot prove a drug or device caused your injury.

Can I sue over a generic drug in Texas?

It is harder. Federal law makes generic labels match the brand, and claims that turn on warnings have been pre-empted.

Do I have to pay Medicare back?

Yes, from a settlement, if Medicare paid for related care.

Who gets the report if I use MedWatch?

The FDA's MedWatch program collects serious reactions and product problems.

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Sources (36)

  1. Texas Poison Center Network, North Texas Poison Center, checked 2026-11-09. “located at Parkland Health in Dallas, TX”
  2. FDA MedWatch, checked 2026-11-09. “you may complete the Online Reporting Form yourself”
  3. FDA MedWatch, checked 2026-11-09. “Your health care provider is NOT required to report to the FDA.”
  4. Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 82.007, checked 2026-11-09. “there is a rebuttable presumption that the defendant or defendants, including a health care provider, manufacturer, distributor, and prescriber, are not liable”
  5. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003, checked 2026-11-08. “not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues”
  6. Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 82.007, checked 2026-11-09. “withheld from or misrepresented to the United States Food and Drug Administration required information”
  7. FDA, checked 2026-11-09. “stopping your medicine may be more harmful to your health than continuing to take the recalled medicine”
  8. U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, MDL 3:11-md-02244, checked 2026-11-09. “IN RE: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation 3:11-md-02244-K”
  9. U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, Dallas, checked 2026-11-09. “United States District Court 1100 Commerce Street, Room 1452 Dallas, TX 75242”
  10. Texas DSHS, Texas Trauma Facilities, checked 2026-11-08. “PARKLAND MEMORIAL HOSPITAL 7/1/2028 E DALLAS 75235”
  11. Texas DSHS, Texas Trauma Facilities, checked 2026-11-08. “BAYLOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER 4/1/2028 E DALLAS 75246”
  12. Texas DSHS, Texas Trauma Facilities, checked 2026-11-08. “METHODIST DALLAS MEDICAL CENTER 12/1/2027 E DALLAS 75203”
  13. FDA, checked 2026-11-09. “check the lot number on the label of your medicine”
  14. FDA, checked 2026-11-09. “not all recalls are announced on FDA.gov or in the news media”
  15. Parkland Health, Medical Records, checked 2026-11-08. “5200 Harry Hines Blvd, 1st floor, Suite 01-603”
  16. Baylor Scott & White, Request Copies of Your Medical Records, checked 2026-11-08. “we have partnered with HealthMark Group”
  17. FDA MedWatch, checked 2026-11-09. “program for reporting serious reactions, product quality problems”
  18. Supreme Court, Wyeth v. Levine (2009), checked 2026-11-09. “the manufacturer bears responsibility for the content of its label at all times”
  19. Supreme Court, PLIVA v. Mensing (2011), checked 2026-11-09. “violated the federal requirement that generic drug labels be the same as the corresponding brand-name drug labels”
  20. Supreme Court, Mutual Pharmaceutical v. Bartlett (2013), checked 2026-11-09. “State-law design-defect claims that turn on the adequacy of a drug's warnings are pre-empted by federal law under PLIVA.”
  21. Supreme Court, Riegel v. Medtronic (2008), checked 2026-11-09. “bars common-law claims challenging the safety or effectiveness of a medical device marketed in a form that received premarket approval from the FDA”
  22. Supreme Court, Medtronic v. Lohr (1996), checked 2026-11-09. “process is focused on equivalence, not safety”
  23. FDA, checked 2026-11-09. “A 510(k) is a premarket submission made to FDA to demonstrate that the device to be marketed is as safe and effective”
  24. Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 82.007, checked 2026-11-09. “the defendant recommended, promoted, or advertised the pharmaceutical product for an indication not approved”
  25. Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 74.051, checked 2026-11-09. “at least 60 days before the filing of a suit”
  26. Fifth Circuit, Lofton v. McNeil (2012), checked 2026-11-09. “the district court correctly found that federal law preempts a Texas tort reform law”
  27. Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 82.005, checked 2026-11-09. “a drug or device, as those terms are defined in the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act”
  28. HRSA, checked 2026-11-09. “is a no-fault alternative to the traditional legal system for resolving vaccine injury petitions”
  29. HRSA, checked 2026-11-09. “please file your Request for Benefits with the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program”
  30. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.001, checked 2026-11-08. “the time of the disability is not included in a limitations period”
  31. Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.012, checked 2026-11-09. “before the end of 15 years after the date of the sale of the product by the defendant”
  32. Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.012, checked 2026-11-09. “the symptoms of the claimant's disease did not, before the end of 15 years”
  33. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001, checked 2026-11-08. “a claimant may not recover damages if his percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent”
  34. CMS, checked 2026-11-09. “it must be repaid to Medicare when a settlement, judgment, award, or other payment is made”
  35. FDA, checked 2026-11-09. “Recalls are actions taken by a firm to remove a product from the market.”
  36. FDA MAUDE, checked 2026-11-09. “cannot be determined from this reporting system alone”

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