Product Recalls and Defective Devices
As a patient, you trust the manufacturers of products designed to enhance your health and well-being and to not distribute defective devices. Medical devices such as pacemakers, heart valves, and artificial hips should be safe for your body and help you lead a normal, fulfilling life.
When you undergo major surgery to have a medical device implanted, you trust that the device will function properly and last for the duration of your life. However, this does not always happen. When a medical device breaks or malfunctions, it can result in serious injury and wrongful death
At The Cochran Firm, our lawyers understand how difficult it is to accept an injury or death because of a faulty medical device. We believe that the manufacturers of these defective devices must be held accountable for any negligent and reckless behavior.
About Defective Medical Devices
Modern medical devices like cardiac defibrillators and pacemakers can indeed save lives when they work as designed. However, when they fail or malfunction, thousands of patients are seriously injured every year in the United States.
There are two main categories of medical equipment that cause most patient injuries: defective joint replacement parts and devices intended to treat heart problems.
Several major recalls of these types of devices include:
- Artificial joint recalls: Hylamer® artificial joints, manufactured by DePuy International Ltd. (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) introduced a polyethylene replacement joint that was found to quickly degrade, requiring additional surgery.
- Defibrillator recalls: Medtronic issued a product recall on its LifePak CR defibrillators after learning that humidity can cause a malfunction. Guidant Corporation recently issued a massive recall of its implantable defibrillators along with its cardiac resynchronization defibrillators because of various failures.
- Pacemaker recalls: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert regarding Medtronic Kappa and Sigma Pacemakers, stating that wiring problems in these devices makes them potentially deadly.
Product Recalls
In the United States, the FDA is responsible for approving medical devices before they are distributed and sold to the public. The FDA also monitors the safety for the devices it approves. If a device is defective or has caused health risks to patients, the FDA will issue an urgent medical device recall. Sadly, product defects are often identified after countless patients are injured.
If you or a loved one has become injured by a defective medical device, you may be able to collect damages for the following:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Loss of past and future earnings
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Punitive damages to punish the responsible party
If you or someone you love has been hurt by a defective medical device or impacted by a product recall, please contact the defective medical device lawyers at The Cochran Firm, serving clients nationwide.