Preuss | Foster cares about you.
Don't hesitate to let us navigate your legal needs.
Call 816.307.2788
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for ensuring that medical device manufacturers follow processes that create a “reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness” for their products. This process is seemingly supposed to give you the assurance that the medical device you are using has been tested, is safe to use, and will work to diagnose, treat, prevent, cure or mitigate disease or conditions. The FDA has a system in place to determine what is a medical device, and what regulations apply to which class of devices it would be in.
Types Of Medical Devices
- Implantable Devices – These are medical devices that are usually surgically implanted in a patient. This can include everything from stents and pacemakers to hip or knee replacements, mesh implants and many more.
- Medical Equipment – These are machines and devices that include items like wheelchairs and walkers, hospital beds, CPAP machines, ventilators, blood pressure monitors, EKG machines and more.
- Imaging Equipment – This can be anything from the monitor a radiologist uses to the actual machine that does the imaging; including MRI’s, Ultrasound, X-rays, CT Scan and more.
- Surgical & Laboratory Instruments – These are items used to cut, hold or retract during a surgical or lab procedure. These are items like scalpels, forceps, scissors and even surgical lasers.
- Single Use Devices – These are items like catheters, syringes, bandages or other items that are disposed of after being used a single time.
- Software- This can be software in a medical device like the program on a pacemaker or software as the medical device, like a program allowing a doctor to view an image on their phone.
When any of these types of medical devices malfunction or is defective, the root cause can usually be traced back to the manufacturer. Medical device manufacturers have duties and responsibilities to ensure that their devices will work as intended. Any failures they made during the development and manufacturing process to safeguard the health of those using the devices can cause catastrophic injury or even death. Our attorneys have seen examples of medical device manufacturers cutting corners to get devices and equipment to market as quickly as possible, turning their eye from potential defects or even covering up the risks of their products. When medical device manufacturers put profits over people and cause harm to you, you have legal remedies to receive compensatory damages and to punish the manufacturer for the damage done.
Types of liability claims arising from defective medical devices:
- Failure to warn – If a device could potentially be dangerous, the manufacturer has a duty to warn you about it. If there are risks you should be notified as to what they are. Any failure to clearly state these warnings could be reason to seek legal action.
- Design Defect – When a device manufacturer designs a product in a way that causes it to malfunction or become defective, catastrophic damage can occur to individuals using it. When this happens, every single device user can be affected and impacted by the defect.
- Manufacturing Defect – This can include anything from the manufacturer using inferior or unsafe materials during manufacturing to the packaging and storage of a product or device.
The attorneys at Preuss | Foster Law have represented clients nationwide against some of the largest medical device manufacturers in the world, winning hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients. This gives our attorneys unique experience that can help navigate your claims whether you were the only device user affected or part of a larger group of people who experienced injuries.
When a medical device puts the entire nation at risk, a court will select highly qualified attorneys to a Plaintiffs Steering Committee which represents the injured individuals as a group. The attorneys at Preuss | Foster Law have been appointed to these steering committees by numerous courts throughout the country in some of the most talked about medical device liability cases. Having this experience is vital in going up against large medical device manufacturers that have hundreds of attorneys and limitless resources. It is difficult to find this combination of expertise and experience outside of law firms where clients are faceless case numbers.
Our attorneys have also represented individuals against medical device manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers holding them responsible for their actions during every step of the chain of custody of a device. If your injury was sustained due to how your device was instructed to be used, designed, manufactured, packaged, sold, stored or handled, our attorneys have the experience and expertise to fully investigate and litigate your claim.
While our experience is one thing that sets us apart from other firms, the biggest difference might be our approach. By taking on a more refined caseload, our attorneys have the ability to have one-on-one interactions with our clients to give them the individualized attention they deserve. This allows us to provide a close working relationship so that you feel confident knowing that your case and your concerns are being heard by your attorney. We find that this personalized approach allows us to be better informed about our clients’ cases by asking questions, having conversations, and understanding your story.
Contact a Kansas City defective medical device attorney today
The medical device liability attorneys at Preuss | Foster Law have the legal experience and dedication to help you pursue any damages you may be owed for any medical device related issue. If you suffered an injury resulting from a defective medical device, call us at (816) 307-2788 for a no-fee consultation, to discuss the details of your case in confidence.