What is Seroquel, and why is it potentially dangerous? First, Seroquel is an antipsychotic drug meant to help people suffering from mental conditions such as mania, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia and other psychotic conditions. It's also been used in an "off-label" capacity to treat anxiety disorders and insomnia.

But Seroquel also has harmful side effects -- even fatal ones. These include diabetes and pancreatitis. Victims who survive may be incapacitated, and thus need substantial help for securing financial compensation via a Seroquel lawsuit. Surviving families of those who succumb also need such protection.

First approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1997, Seroquel is created and sold by the British and Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, which also has offices in the United States. Taken in tablet form, the drug is considered an "atypical antipsychotic," meaning it's in a group of second-generation drugs that are used for treating mental problems.

Such drugs were developed when first-generation or "typical" antipsychotic drugs -- Prolixin, Thorazine and Haldol among them -- began causing harmful side effects while treating mental illnesses. These side effects included weight gain, muscle tics, cramping and a number of "extrapyramidal symptoms" (EPS) such as drooling, muscle stiffness and irregular gaits.

Yet second-generation drug Seroquel, which was supposed to provide the same benefits as first-generation drugs but without the downside, has been found to cause its own harmful defective drug side effects. These include, notably, tremors, diabetes, coma, ketoacidosis, weight gain and, at worst, death. Americans have a legal right to protection from such dangerous pharmaceuticals and the manufacturing negligence involved in their creation.

Other atypical antipsychotic drugs can cause diabetes, but Seroquel is believed to be the worst in this regard. A study showed that Seroquel users, in fact, were more than three times more likely to develop diabetes than after using other atypical antipsychotic drugs.

The drug that's marketed as Seroquel is actually Quetiapine fumarate. That drug's annual global sales have been $4.7 billion. including $2.9 billion in the United States alone. In fact, the U.S. has had $17 billion in Seroquel sales since 2004, reports health research firm IMS Health.

Such high numbers make it clear that millions of people have used Seroquel since its introduction 13 years ago, and many of them may be suffering from its dangerous side effects.

As a result of these harsh if not horrifying side effects, and alleged illegalities by AstraZeneca  in marketing Seroquel improperly, the  U.S. Department of Justice fined AstraZeneca $520 million, which the pharmaceutical giant agreed to pay. Meanwhile, hundreds of lawsuits against AstraZeneca have been filed in the United States, asserting product liability and personal injury. In Canada, class-action lawsuits have been filed.

You, too, may need to launch a Seroquel lawsuit if you or a member of your family has been harmed by the defective drug Seroquel. If this is the case, the Goldwater Law Firm of Attorney Bob Goldwater can provide you with a knowledgeable and experienced defective drugs lawyer or attorney across America.

Just fill out the brief free case evaluation form on this Web page, and a Robert Goldwater defective drug legal representative will respond to you shortly. Then you can begin the process of gaining the financial recovery and economic compensation you deserve for your Seroquel defective drug injury.