Dangerous drug or medical device injury in San Antonio: reports, limits and deadlines
If a drug made you sick, call the South Texas Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222 for urgent help, then report the problem yourself to the FDA's MedWatch. Your doctor doesn't have to report it. Texas gives you 2 years to sue and a 15-year cutoff after sale. Federal cases can go to the San Antonio federal court.
Last checked November 9, 2026 · Official sources (30)
Who do you call first if a drug harms you in San Antonio?
For poisoning or a bad reaction, the South Texas Poison Center takes calls 24 hours a day at 1-800-222-1222. For an emergency, call 911.
Don't stop a medicine all at once unless a doctor tells you to. The FDA says stopping can be more harmful. After you are safe, keep the bottle, the box, the pharmacy label and any device packaging.
How do you report a bad drug or device to the FDA?
Use MedWatch, the FDA's program for serious reactions and product problems. It has an online form for patients, and your provider doesn't have to report for you. Device makers and device user facilities must report certain problems.
A report is not proof of cause. It does help a lawyer see whether other people had the same problem.
How do you check if your medicine was recalled?
A Class I recall means a reasonable chance of serious harm or death. Compare your lot number to the notice. Many recalls don't make the news.
Why are Texas drug and device cases hard?
| Rule | What it does |
|---|---|
| FDA-approved label | Presumption that the maker, seller and prescriber are not liable on warnings |
| Exception: withheld information | Withholding from or misleading the FDA can rebut it |
| Exception: off-label promotion | Promoting an unapproved use can rebut it |
| Fifth Circuit limit | A federal court found the fraud exception preempted in a Texas case |
| Design defect statute | Doesn't apply to drugs or devices |
| Federal rules | Brand makers answer for their labels at all times; generic labels must match the brand |
For devices, the route matters. Common-law safety claims are barred for premarket approved devices, and the 510(k) process looks at equivalence, not safety. Claims that the maker defrauded the FDA conflict with federal law.
How long do you have to sue over a drug in San Antonio?
Two years after the claim accrues. A 15-year cutoff runs from the date the product was sold, but slow-developing disease cases can fall outside it. A child's time doesn't run while under 18.
If a public hospital gave the drug, written notice is due in 6 months. University Health is a government body. A federally funded clinic means a federal claim first. A Veterans hospital such as Audie L. Murphy is federal too.
Who gets paid first from a drug settlement?
Medicare must be repaid from a settlement. Ask any lawyer about it before you accept a number. Vaccine injuries go through a different no-fault federal program.
What should you do this week in San Antonio?
- Get care, and tell your doctor about the reaction in writing.
- Keep everything: bottles, boxes, lot numbers, receipts and photos.
- Report to MedWatch.
- Request your pharmacy and hospital records. Providers must respond within 30 days.
- File a complaint about a doctor with the Texas Medical Board at 800-201-9353 if you think care was wrong.
Questions
Can I sue the pharmacy or the doctor instead of the maker?
Possibly, but Texas presumes they aren't liable when the label was FDA approved.
Where do federal drug cases get filed near San Antonio?
The U.S. District Clerk's Office is at 262 West Nueva Street, Room 1-400.
Do I lose my claim if I already took the medicine for years?
Not automatically. The 2-year clock starts when the claim accrues, so ask a lawyer when yours did.
Dangerous drug or medical device in San Antonio? See if you are owed money.
A free case review. $0 upfront. No fee unless you win.
See if I’m owed moneySources (30)
- Texas Poison Center Network, checked 2026-11-09. “24-hour telephone hotline (1-800-222-1222)”
- FDA MedWatch, checked 2026-11-09. “program for reporting serious reactions, product quality problems”
- FDA MedWatch, checked 2026-11-09. “you may complete the Online Reporting Form yourself”
- FDA MedWatch, checked 2026-11-09. “Your health care provider is NOT required to report to the FDA.”
- Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.003, checked 2026-11-09. “not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues”
- 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”
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, checked 2026-11-09. “U.S. District Clerk’s Office 262 West Nueva Street, Room 1-400 San Antonio, Texas 78207”
- FDA, checked 2026-11-09. “stopping your medicine may be more harmful to your health than continuing to take the recalled medicine”
- FDA, checked 2026-11-09. “Class I recall: a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
- 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”
- 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”
- FDA, checked 2026-11-09. “manufacturers, device user facilities, and importers) are required to submit to the FDA”
- 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”
- Fifth Circuit, Lofton v. McNeil (2012), checked 2026-11-09. “the district court correctly found that federal law preempts a Texas tort reform law”
- 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”
- Supreme Court, Wyeth v. Levine (2009), checked 2026-11-09. “the manufacturer bears responsibility for the content of its label at all times”
- 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”
- 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”
- Supreme Court, Medtronic v. Lohr (1996), checked 2026-11-09. “process is focused on equivalence, not safety”
- Supreme Court, Buckman v. Plaintiffs' Legal Committee (2001), checked 2026-11-09. “claims conflict with, and are therefore impliedly pre-empted by”
- 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”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.001, checked 2026-11-08. “the time of the disability is not included in a limitations period”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101, checked 2026-11-08. “not later than six months after the day that the incident giving rise to the claim occurred”
- University Health, About Us, checked 2026-11-09. “we are officially the Bexar County Hospital District. While Bexar County is in our name, we are a separate governmental entity and a political subdivision of the State of Texas.”
- HRSA, FTCA FAQ, checked 2026-11-09. “a claimant may not file suit before presenting an administrative claim”
- VA South Texas Health Care, Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital, checked 2026-11-09. “7400 Merton Minter Boulevard San Antonio, TX 78229-4404”
- CMS, checked 2026-11-09. “it must be repaid to Medicare when a settlement, judgment, award, or other payment is made”
- HRSA, checked 2026-11-09. “is a no-fault alternative to the traditional legal system for resolving vaccine injury petitions”
- 45 CFR 164.524, checked 2026-11-09. “no later than 30 days after receipt of the request”
- Texas Medical Board, Complaint About Licensee, checked 2026-11-09. “Call the Complaint Hotline (800-201-9353)”