Defective Medical Devices
The doctor suggests you have a stent inserted inside your artery to let blood flow into your kidney to keep you from dying. However, the last thing you consider is that your trusted doctor might be placing a fallible device inside of you.
The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does have a fallible equipment database system in place known as the Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE). This database has an exploration box in which anyone can search for a specific product and verify any issue listings within it. In 2018, using MAUDE as a resource for data, the Internal Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), an organization uncovering malpractices in the general public, conducted a research study. The study discovered the death tolls relating to medical device failures were approximately 80,000.
Personal Injury Lawyer in Fulton County, GA
If a defective medical device cost you and your family severe injury or even a life, do not wait any longer. Take matter, not only into your own hands but into the hands of a trusted attorney like ReShea Balams. You might not be the only one who suffered an accident due to a faulty device. The Balams Firm is here to help you and your family claim back your physical health or a lost life. Call (404) 445-2005 today for a free consultation.
The The Balams Firm currently works with clients in Fulton County, Dekalb County, Cobb County, Gwinnett County, and Clayton County. ReShea Balams is based in Alpharetta, GA, and works with clients all over the Atlanta area.
Overview of Defective Medical Devices in Atlanta, Georgia
- The General Understanding of a Defective Medical Device
- Most Common Defective Medical Devices
- Filing Against a Defective Medical Device in Georgia
- Additional Resources
The General Understanding of a Defective Medical Device
A defective medical device is detected in its fallible manufacturing or in the user’s experience of the product itself. If the use of the product is a potential danger to the patient or customer, then it could be considered defective. A defective medical device also includes a product that doesn’t contain essential user guidelines or disclaimers. Doctors might also be to blame for forgetting to mention those user guidelines or disclaimers.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies products according to their potential health risk. A class III classification suggests the product is not expected to be a health risk. A Class II classification, however, suggests it might be dangerous to your health. A Class I classification suggests there is a reason to believe the product is defective and is probable to bring a risk to the patient’s health.
Most Common Defective Medical Devices
A lot of these defective medical devices are common ones used in a doctor’s office. If you have a heart problem, it might lead to the doctor implanting a heart monitor inside of you. Similarly, if you have broken a hip or knee, you will have something inside of you taking the place of the original. The object implant is something foreign to your body, so you need to follow with it carefully and check for symptoms occurring after your implant. The doctor will mention symptoms at discharge time, and you need to compare those to the ones you feel afterward.
Often there is news regarding one of these faulty medical devices with recalls because they find something wrong with them. A lot of defective medical devices are recalled years after someone has already implanted them in his or her body. The best way is to know if you have had some medical device embedded in you.
Some medical devices that have come out in the general public as defective:
- Synthetic mesh used in surgery
- Metal Hips used in hip replacement surgery
- Cardiac defibrillators implants
- Medical staples used in surgery
- Metal Knee used in knee replacement surgery
Filing Against a Defective Medical Device in the State of Georgia
In the state of Georgia, a defective medical device falls under the law section of product liability. A defective medical device separates into two causes, strict liability and negligence. Strict liability describes the potential of a more straightforward product liability claim if it meets the following:
- Product caused injury to you (as the customer or user)
- Product error came about in its model, production, or delivery method
- Product caused damage while used according to guidelines
- Product caused injury while used in the same condition as it arrived
Negligence is also another reason for a lawsuit. If the defendant or the accused did not warn the plaintiff of specific strategies to use the product or of cautionary items, then the plaintiff has a right to fight back. Negligence cases can vary from the manufacturer, not including instructions in the packaging of its product, or the doctor forgot to mention the guidelines for product use.
This law also mentions the following limitations on the pursuit of legal action. No one can bring a case of injury under court if it has been more than ten years since you and the defendant first made the product exchange for utilization. The only exception is involving a situation in which the plaintiff is still recovering from the defective product.
Additional Resources
OrthoInfo’s Information about Infection Post-Joint Replacement — If you had a hip or knee replacement, it might be worth looking into some of the symptoms post implants. Infections are a serious side effect of joint replacement infection. OrthoInfo explains the definition of a joint replacement infection.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Recall List — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a process to recall products that have come out as defective. Once the FDA has labeled the product according to its health risk classification, they will also let it be known to the general public.
Attorney for Defective Medical Devices in Atlanta, GA
Any defective medical devices data presented by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is only the first step to shining some light on defective medical devices. The Balams Firm represents you, the patient and client, according to the law and the ethic of transparency. Contact The Balams Firm at (404) 445-2005 to get started.
ReShea Balams is empathetic to your situation and will analyze your case step by step. The Balams Firm can file a case on your behalf. All you have to do is get a free consultation with them first. The Balams Firm serves all across the Georgia region including the counties of Fulton County, Dekalb County, Gwinnett County, Clayton County, and Cobb County.