InjuryDrug and medical device injury
Drug and medical device injury claims in Arizona
If a prescription drug, an over-the-counter medication, or an implanted device injured you in Arizona, you may have a claim against its manufacturer under Arizona's product liability statutes (A.R.S. § 12-681 et seq.), usually for a failure to warn of a risk the maker knew or should have known of, or for a design or manufacturing defect. The two-year limit under A.R.S. § 12-542 generally runs from when you knew or reasonably should have known that the product caused the injury. Federal law narrows some of these claims: a device approved through the FDA's premarket approval process and a generic drug's label carry preemption rules to check early. Blueshoe's current mass-tort investigations are listed under Investigations; an individual claim can exist whether or not an MDL does.
What Blueshoe does
The groundwork, in order, before you decide anything.
- 01
Build the use history
The prescription records and a pharmacy printout of every fill, dose, and dispensing manufacturer, or the implant card, operative report, and device identifier, assembled into a timeline that pairs with the medical record of the injury.
- 02
Preserve what can be lost
The medication, its packaging, and the lot number; an explanted device and its components, which hospitals discard unless asked in writing to keep them; and the records of the pharmacy or facility that dispensed or implanted it.
- 03
Check preemption and the deadline early
Whether the device went through premarket approval, whether the drug was brand or generic, which theory survives, and when the discovery-rule clock began, so the claim is framed around what federal law leaves open.
- 04
An attorney can take it forward
A licensed Arizona attorney can review the file, determine whether an existing MDL fits the product and the injury or whether an individual case is the path, retain the medical expert the claim needs, and file, on terms stated in writing first, including how expert costs are handled.
What the law says
What the law says about drug and medical device injuries in Arizona
What makes a drug or device injury a product liability claim?
The same three defects as any product: a manufacturing defect, a contaminated lot or a device built off specification; a design defect, where the design's risk outweighed its benefit; and a failure to warn, where the label did not disclose a risk the maker knew or should have known of. Failure to warn is the usual theory in drug cases.
Does FDA approval protect the manufacturer?
Sometimes. For a device approved through the FDA's premarket approval process, Riegel v. Medtronic, 552 U.S. 312 (2008), bars state-law claims that would impose requirements different from or in addition to the federal ones, leaving claims that parallel federal requirements. Devices cleared through the less demanding 510(k) process generally do not get that protection.
I took the generic version. Does that change anything?
It can. Under PLIVA v. Mensing, 564 U.S. 604 (2011), a generic manufacturer must keep its label identical to the brand's and cannot change it on its own, so state-law failure-to-warn claims against generic makers are generally preempted. Other theories, and claims against the brand-name maker where available, are examined separately. The pharmacy printout showing which version you received matters.
How does the deadline work when the injury showed up years later?
The limit is two years under A.R.S. § 12-542, and under Arizona's discovery rule it generally runs from when you knew or should have known of the injury and its connection to the product, not from the first dose or the implant date. A diagnosis after years of use may still support a claim. Once connected, the clock is real.
What is an MDL, and do I have to be part of one?
An MDL is a federal multidistrict litigation that coordinates individual cases before one judge for discovery and bellwether trials; each claimant keeps their own case. If an MDL exists for your product, an individual claim can be filed into it. If none exists, a claim can still be brought on its own. Blueshoe's current investigations are listed under Investigations.
An MDL is not a class action. Your claim is yours, your recovery is yours, and whether it belongs in a consolidated proceeding or stands alone is a question of which court and schedule serve it, not of whether a claim exists.
What it costs
No fee unless you recover.
Asking costs nothing. If you engage Blueshoe on a contingency basis, the fee is a percentage of what is recovered, stated in a written engagement agreement, and nothing is owed if there is no recovery. Case costs, such as filing fees and records, are set out in the same agreement, including whether they come out before or after the fee is calculated.
- Free to ask
- Written assessment before any fee
- Engagement terms in writing
- No billable hours
Questions people ask
That is a medical decision between you and your prescriber, not something a law firm should decide. Asking about a potential claim does not require any change to your treatment, and stopping a medication abruptly can be dangerous. Keep the records of what you were taking, at what dose, and when; that history is the claim's foundation either way.
More under Injury
- Defective productsHurt by a product that was badly made, badly designed, or sold without a warning? Arizona strict product liability under A.R.S.Read more
- Medical malpracticeA missed diagnosis, a surgical error, a medication mistake, a birth injury.Read more
- Wrongful deathArizona's wrongful death statutes (A.R.S.Read more
Legally reviewed by Catherine O’Grady, State Bar of Arizona No. 011647
Managing partner & chief compliance officer · 30+ years in practice · Reviewed 2026-10-08 · Full bio →