Very few drugs actually have mortality as a meaningful adverse effect. The ones that do are typically last line drugs for life threatening conditions. You try them when you're out of all other options. I can think of a couple of antibiotics and some cancer drugs that are like that. These aren't run-of-the-mill maintenance medications.

If you're hearing about a drug with mortality as a legitimate adverse effect, that's a conversation that should never be handled by a pharma company ad exec or sales representative. It should be handled by their attending physician who has explained to them all of their treatment options thoroughly so the patient can make a FULLY informed choice. Sometimes, you do indeed take the risk because that 5% mortality for patients on ventilators receiving X drug probably have a >50% of dying without the drug from the infection or cancer that's eating their body alive - and you've tried every other safer option.