DEFECTIVE MEDICAL PRODUCTS

Defects in medical products is a growing issue as products advertised as a solution for a physical issue turn dangerous and deadly because of a defect in the product. While this is an area heavily regulated by the FDA, injuries and deaths as a result of defective medical products happen every day. Much of the approval data the FDA relies on these days is actually the test results from the manufacturer– data that can be skewed, incomplete or a combination of the two. In 1976, the FDA adopted an expedited review process for certain medical devices that were similar to those already approved on the market. Known as 510(k), the unintended consequences of this fast and cheap review has been a surge of seriously dangerous medical devices.

DEFECTIVE MEDICAL PRODUCTS

How does a defective medical product enter the market in the first place?  There are three general sources:

1. Design:  A lot of the defective medical designs are a direct result of the 510(k) approval allowing defectively designed and not appropriately tested medical devices on the market. These medical devices are heavily marketed to you, the patient at your own physical expense.
2. Manufacturing process: When there is an issue with the actual production of the medical device, there is likely nothing wrong with the device but something went terribly wrong in the manufacturing process that turned the product from safe to deadly.
3. Warnings & Recall: Failure to properly warn and failure to institute an adequate or timely recall can also result in financial liability on the part of the medical device company.

CURRENT MEDICAL DEVICE CASES

At Walch Law, we only handle serious personal injury and wrongful death cases. We stay up to date on all defective medical products and work with highly qualified and knowledgeable medical professionals to make sure that we are presenting the most convincing evidence for your case. Some of the current medical device cases we accept include:

• DePuy Pinnacle Hips: A metal on metal hip replacement and resurfacing device produced by Johnson & Johnson that has caused patients pain, loss of mobility, total failure and other major health problems.
• Stryker Rejuvenate & ABG II: Stryker’s Rejuvenate and ABG II hip replacements were voluntarily recalled back in 2012 after it was discovered that fretting and corrosion was occurring in patients causing intense pain and swelling, among other things.
• Transvaginal Mesh: Used to help correct pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence in women, transvaginal mesh has been used since the 1970’s, although not approved by the FDA until 2002. Extremely popular, almost 300,000 transvaginal mesh surgeries were performed in 2010 alone. Unfortunately, erosion of the mesh is a major problem that has contributed to everything from urinary problems to death.
• da Vinci Robotic Surgery: Intuitive Surgical designed the DaVinci Robot to help perform a range of surgeries. The main issues with the DaVinci Robot are connected to the limited training a surgeon has with the machine before using it on major surgeries– causing major medical problems.
• Power Morcellators: Used for grinding uterine fibers into tiny pieces to be removed. Unfortunately, not all of the fibers are removed in many cases, spreading cancer. Lawsuits relate to both the issue with the morcellator and the failure to adequately warn patients of the risks associated with this machine.
• NuvaRing Birth Control: A very popular birth control mainly because of the ease of use, the NuvaRing has been connected to everything from blood clots to death in patients.

Don’t see your product? Don’t worry– just get in touch with us today and let’s chat about your case. We take all our defective medical device cases on a contingency basis, are available 24/7 to our clients and have an over 95% success rate.