Glossary of Prescription Drug Terms

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Click on the first letter of the word from the list above to go to the appropriate section of the glossary. Contact us if you would like a personal injury law glossary or one of other legal glossaries for your website.

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Damages: The sum of money awarded to the injured party in a personal injury lawsuit.

Default Judgment: A judgment issued when the defendant offers no defense by not responding to the complaint. A judge may issue a judgment without the necessity of a trial.

Defendant: The person against whom a claim is brought.

Deponent: The person who testifies at a deposition.

Deposition: A pretrial discovery device in which one party verbally answers questions from the other party.

DES: Diethylstilbestrol (DES) used to be prescribed to pregnant women believed to need more estrogen to maintain their pregnancies. Daughters of these women, who were exposed in the womb to DES, developed a rare form of vaginal cancer.

Discovery: A pre-trial phase in which both parties must exchange all information relevant to the case - often in the form of records, depositions, and other documents - so that each side can fully prepare its case for trial.

Docket: A summary system kept by the clerk’s office which contains a record of all pleadings, court orders and other important activities in a case.

Drug: Any chemical compound that may be used on or administered to humans as an aid in the diagnosis, treatment, cure, mitigation, or prevention of disease or other abnormal conditions.

Duract: In June 1998, Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, a division of American Home Products Corporation announced the recall of Duract because of post-marketing reports of severe hepatic (liver) failure resulting in four deaths and eight liver transplants. DURACT (bromfenac sodium capsules), is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic indicated for the short-term (10 days or less) management of acute pain. DURACT was introduced in July 1997, and approximately 2.5 million prescriptions have been dispensed, the great majority of these for 10 days or less. In February 1998, the company and the Food and Drug Administration agreed on labeling changes to further emphasize that DURACT should be used for 10 days or less. These changes were initiated in response to earlier reports of serious events associated with longer-term use. "Although the revised labeling reduced the number of prescriptions of longer duration and the reports of severe liver events, it did not eliminate them," says Dr. de Vane. "The company has now concluded that further steps to limit use of a potent NSAID pain reliever such as DURACT to just 10 days would not be feasible or effective. In light of these circumstances, as well as the availability of other therapies, Wyeth-Ayerst has decided to withdraw the product." Wyeth-Ayerst has sent letters of notification to more than 600,000 health care professionals in the United States. They are being advised to stop prescribing and dispensing DURACT immediately. In addition, they have been asked to consider contacting patients who may be using the product longer than 10 days or who have a history of liver disease, and advise these patients to discontinue treatment. Patients are advised to discuss concerns related to DURACT with their physician.