Little Rock Defective Medical Device Attorneys
Arkansas product liability lawyers protecting the rights of those injured because of defective medical devices
Defective medical devices can cause a host of injuries when they fail. Whether the device was an artificial hip, shoulder or knee implant, an electronic defibrillator or a shoulder pain pump, these devices cause more problems than they solve when they do not work the way they were designed to work. If you have had a medical device that was supposed to improve your quality of life, but instead has caused you painful, debilitating side effects, you may have grounds for a product liability claim against the manufacturer.
At Bailey & Greer PLLC, our Little Rock defective medical device attorneys are prepared to represent you when you have been injured. We offer a free consultation so that you can discuss your injury case and learn more about the legal options available given the facts of your case. Also, you will never pay attorney fees until we have recovered compensation for you.
What is product liability?
If the consumer becomes injured from a defective medical device, the manufacturer can be held liable for the his or her injuries and other losses. Product liability is about the product manufacturer’s responsibility to make sure that the products they design, manufacture and market will work as advertised and not cause harm. A person who sustains an injury from the defective product, he or she can file a lawsuit against the manufacturer and all the businesses in the chain of commerce involved in moving the product to the consumer, and possibly receive compensation for their injuries and related losses.
Some examples of potential defendants in a defective medical device case might include:
- Product manufacturer
- Sales representative
- Product testing laboratory
- Retailer
- Physician
- Hospital
Arkansas Code § 16-116-202 defines a product liability claim as one which, “includes all actions brought for or on account of personal injury, death, or property damage caused by or resulting from the manufacture, construction, design, formula, preparation, assembly, testing, service, warning, instruction, marketing, packaging, or labeling of any product.”
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The three different types of product liability claims
The following are three types of product defects that can lead to liability claims when people become injured from using the product:
Design defect. With a design defect, all the products are uniformly defective. In the case of a metal-on-metal hip implant, the movement of the hip causes the metal parts to scrape against one another causing tiny shards of metal to contaminate the blood along with other problems.
Manufacturing defects are introduced in the process of building the product. An example of a manufacturing defect might be a batch of faulty screws or bolts, or if some error was made in assembling the product.
Marketing defect, which is also called a, “failure to warn” defect which includes those cases where the product’s label does not provide adequate warning about the inherent dangers of the product.
If you have sustained an injury because you took a defective prescription medication, you will be required to prove that the drug is what caused your injury. Your Little Rock defective prescription drug attorney will review your case and determine the category of your claim.
What must a plaintiff prove to prevail in a defective product injury case?
To prevail in a defective medical device case, you are required to prove the following:
- You were injured;
- The medical device was defective; and
- The device's defect was the cause of your injury.
Your Little Rock defective medical device attorney’s job is to gather evidence and prepare a compelling case for compensation for your injuries.
Examples of defective medical devices
The following are examples of defective medical devices which have cause serious injury to patients:
- Hip implants. Metal-on-metal and other types of hip implant devices have been linked to blood poisoning from the microscopic metal fragments that become released into the blood as the metal parts grind together as the person walks. These types of hip implants also have a high failure rate which requires revision surgery.
- Da Vinci surgical robots have caused burns and other serious injuries and death when they have malfunctioned during surgery.
- Hernia mesh is a device used to repair hernias, but they can cause painful injuries from the migration of the device, adhering to other organs, bowel construction and chronic pain.
- Vaginal mesh is a device used to treat urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, however it has caused serious injuries to women including perforated organs, migration of the mesh, pain, bleeding and other discharge.
- Essure IUD. The FDA restricted the sale and use of Essure due to safety concerns about unintended pregnancy, perforation of the uterus or fallopian tubes, migration to the abdominal cavity, cramping, bleeding, pain, and mood changes including depression.
- IVC filters which were designed to catch blood clots before they could stop the heart, but these tiny, metal structures can break apart puncturing nearby organs and causing potentially deadly complications.
- Electronic defibrillator. This device is implanted in the chest and is designed to monitor the patient's heartbeat and deliver a shock automatically to revive a patient in cardiac arrest. The device can fail to deliver a shock when needed and can sometimes deliver a shock when it is not needed.
- Power morcellators which are used to shred tissue while it is still inside the body during laparoscopic surgery. If there is undiagnosed cancer in those tissues, the cancer cells are spread throughout the abdominal cavity thus facilitating the growth of the cancer.
What is a medical device recall?
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a company can propose a correction or remove a product from the market when they discover that a device has a problem. The FDA refers to this process as a recall if the problem being addressed violates FDA law. A recall takes place when a medical device is found to be defective, when it becomes a health risk or both.
The device manufacturer can issue a recall voluntarily, or the FDA can require a company to recall a device. There are three risk categories in medical device recalls:
- Class I: A reasonable chance the product will cause serious health problems or death.
- Class II: A product may cause a temporary or reversible health problem, but with a slight chance that it could cause serious health problems or death.
- Class III: A product is unlikely to cause any health problem or injury.
The FDA informs the public about medical device recalls by posting the information in its Medical Device Recall Database and it may post press releases from the device manufacturer about the recall.
How can a Little Rock product liability attorney help my case?
While you might think it’s obvious that the defective artificial hip implant caused your injuries, but our system of civil justice requires that you prove that the device was defective and that it caused your injuries before you can recover compensation. An experienced product liability lawyer is indispensable in helping you do that.
The medical device manufacturer will have its own team of lawyers who are focused on protecting the company’s profits, so they do everything possible to ensure that you recover as little or no compensation at all. Our job is to protect your right to recover fair compensation that covers all your losses both economic and non-economic.
What damages are available in a defective medical device injury claim?
Once you have successfully proven that device manufacturer and any other defendant’s liability for your injuries, you may be able to recover the following types of damages depending on the facts of your case:
- Medical costs related to the injury
- Lost income
- Diminished earning capacity
- Disability
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Other losses
If you or someone you care about has been injured because of a defective medical device, our Little Rock product liability lawyers are here to fight for justice for you.
Do you know your rights after you have been injured by a defective medical device? Call us today
The experienced Little Rock product liability lawyers at Bailey & Greer, PLLC handle medical device injury cases nationwide. If you have sustained a serious injury because of a dangerous medical device, you may call us toll free at 501-213-1512 fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment.