One powerful tool in the hands of the consumer attorney is the FOIA or Freedom of Information Act. The FOIA is a process by which any individual or company can petition the FDA or any other federal government agency for a copy of their records.

Although the FOIA is a powerful tool, there are many pitfalls one may encounter when attempting to use the FOIA process. At the FDA, there are two types of FOIA requests, short and complex. Short requests are typically dealt with in approximately 20 days. Complex requests are handled in a minimum of a 24 month time window. A complex request is any type of request that the FDA deems too broad to be handled quickly. Additionally, if improperly executed a FOIA request can be deemed inconclusive and yield no results.

A successful FOIA request is on that is carefully crafted and monitored so that it can reach fruition. Whalen Research offers services in crafting and tracking FOIA requests. A successfully executed FOIA request is a carefully targeted search that yields results. Whereas, an untrained and unmaintained FOIA request is nothing more a shot in the dark.