Doctors may receive kickbacks for prescribing certain drugs, but, even though several lawsuits were settled by drug makers - to the tune of over $6.5 billion since 2008, according to an exhaustive study chronicled in the News Tribune - doctors rarely, if at all, paid any consequences. As a matter of fact, a doctor named as a co-defendant in one of the lawsuits was never pursued.

Eli Lilly pled guilty to marketing Zyprexa - an anti-psychotic for elderly patients - illegally, and paid out $1.4 billion in criminal penalties and settlements. If this drug maker, or any other drug maker, pays a doctor for every prescription he or she writes, the question logically arises whether that doctor might be inclined to prescribe that drug to a patient even if doing so is not in the patient's best interest. Such an act would raise the specter of medical malpractice.

You will almost certainly never know if your doctor is receiving a kickback for a drug prescribed to you. If a drug does not react well with your system, though, and your doctor refuses to change it, and dismisses your problems as "normal side effects," contact an Ohio medical malpractice attorney for a consultation. You may need a similar drug, but the drug you have been prescribed may be detrimental to your health.

You are also entitled to a second opinion regarding your treatment. If the doctor does not write you a referral, this could also be a sign of the doctor receiving a kickback from the drug maker. You should contact an Ohio medical malpractice lawyer to speak of your concerns and, possibly, start an investigation into whether your doctor is looking after your best interests.

Related Resource: The News Tribune, "Doctors rarely face consequences for drug kickbacks" Sept. 20, 2011