Products Liability
Our medical device injury lawyers represent victims in injury and wrongful death claims.
Medical devices are largely good for patients. They have changed the landscape of healthcare forever. These devices have created new treatment options for people suffering from a wide range of illnesses and are designed to save lives.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has substantial control over the approval and sale of medical devices. However, once they go on the market, it is up to the corporations to guarantee the safety of these products. Just like any other product, medical devices can be recalled.
The profit these medical device companies can achieve is stunning. This pushes these companies to put medical devices on the market that should have never been put on the market. It also compels some companies to keep medical devices on the market long after the risks exceed the benefits. When this happens, people find medical device injury lawyers to file lawsuits to enforce their rights to compensation for the needless harm that was caused.
These are the big seven medical device lawsuits our lawyers are working on now.
- Talcum Powder Lawsuits (not technically a medical device)
- Paragard
- Hernia Mesh
- Exactech
- Cartiva Toe Implant
- PowerPort
- BioZorb
These pages on our website look at these medical device lawsuits and what settlement amounts victims might expect.
Why Not Warn Doctors and Patients of the Risks?
The responsibility for properly informing the public about a recall falls on the corporations. Far too often medical device manufacturers fail to meet the obligation of properly informing doctors and patients of the risk of medical devices.
Why? What is the incentive of these device makers not to learn about the risk of their products? The answer is, more often than not, dollars and cents. Every warning leads a doctor or patient to hesitate to use or proscribe the device.
Medical Devices Are Rushed on the Market
Defective medical devices are usually a result of device makers rushing the product to market without sufficient testing. Sure, the FDA has oversight over the testing process and has lots of regulations in place. But they have to enforce those regulations and hold these companies’ feet to the fire when it comes to patient safety.
There is a stunning – stunning – revolving door between industry and the FDA. If you are an FDA employee looking to cash out your experience with the drug and medical device companies one day, just how tough are you going to be on them? That question answers itself, right?
Even assuming a dedicated FDA, the government can only do so much. In the end, the responsibility for ensuring the safety of medical devices is placed in the hands of the company… the same one standing to profit from the maximum amount of devices being sold.
What Are Medical Devices?
A medical device is an instrument or machine that is used to diagnose or treat a patient’s medical condition. Examples of medical devices include joint replacements, pacemakers, transvaginal mesh, and breast implants.
These devices all have one thing in common: they have to be placed inside the patient. This usually requires surgery. When something goes wrong with a medical device, a person’s health can be placed in jeopardy. Not to forget, problems with medical devices crop up over time, meaning someone could experience symptoms for an extended period before discovering the faultiness of a medical device.
Liability of Device Makers
Because medical devices are products, users are both patients and consumers, and the legal system provides essential protections for consumers. In some cases, companies can be held accountable for their products through the legal principle of “strict liability.”
Under strict liability, medical device manufacturers are automatically responsible for the products they place on the market. Plaintiffs do not need to prove that the company was negligent; they only need to show that the company placed a defective product on the market and that it caused harm to the consumer. (Note: this is an oversimplification of a complex legal concept.)
However, strict liability is not always applicable. Often, winning a medical device claim involves more than just demonstrating that a company put a defective product on the market. Many cases handled by medical device attorneys involve failure to warn about the risk of harm the product can cause.
These cases require significant effort. To succeed, plaintiffs need a medical device injury law firm with the resources and skills to aggressively pursue their claim. Medical device lawsuits often involve an individual consumer going up against a large pharmaceutical corporation, necessitating a medical device injury lawyer with the expertise, knowledge, and resources to win.
Corporations frequently blame consumers for injuries sustained from medical devices, arguing that the device was used incorrectly or that the injury was self-inflicted. This tactic not only shifts blame but also adds insult to injury for those affected.
Fighting back is a complex battle. Proving the facts often requires expert witnesses and substantial evidence. Plaintiffs must demonstrate that the manufacturer is at fault for not warning about the risks associated with the product or for producing an unsafe device. Additionally, they must establish that the medical device caused their injury, a concept known as “causation,” which asks, “Did the harm cause your injuries?” Successfully navigating these challenges requires a law firm with the capability to marshal the necessary resources and expertise to overcome the defenses mounted by powerful corporations.
Getting a Lawyer for Your Claim
If either you or a family member has suffered an injury, or worse, by the hands of a faulty medical device, you deserve to be compensated. Call 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation from our medical device injury lawyers.
- Should YOU Bring a Claim?
- Roundup, hair relaxers, and AFFF are not medical device cases, but these mass torts play out like a medical device class action lawsuit