Consumers and health care professionals rely upon medical devices and equipment to help people recover from illnesses and injuries. However, when it is a defective medical device, continued use can cause serious injuries and death. Long-term studies have linked some medical devices and medical equipment to a number of serious side effects which have caused crippling injuries for the users of these devices.
A medical device attorney in Illinois can help when you are injured by hospital equipment. There are several ways that you may become involved in medical device litigation but the two most common are failure to discontinue use of a known defective medical device and injury from a defective medical device before a common issue is known.
Some of the medical devices and equipment shown to be defective include:
- Shoulder pain pumps – these devices inject a pain medication directly into the shoulder joint of patients who have recently had shoulder surgery. In some patients, the medication destroys the cartilage in the shoulder, leaving the patients with a painful and arthritic shoulder. This condition is known as post-arthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis, or PAGCL.
- Gadolinium – this highly toxic substance is used as a contrast agent for patients who have MRI procedures done. When given to people who have temporary or long-term diminished kidney function, it causes a painful disease known as nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, or NSF.
- Implantable defibrillators – the Medtronic defibrillator has been linked to a defect in the leads that go to the heart in which the leads have fractured, causing users to receive unnecessary shocks to the heart from the defibrillator.
The legal and medical issues associated with investigating and prosecuting a case involving a defective medical device are complex, so if you or a family member has been injured as a result of using a dangerous or defective medical device or injured by hospital equipment, please do not hesitate to contact an experienced medical device attorney in Illinois.
If you are entering medical device litigation there are many parties that may be involved in your claim of being injured by hospital equipment. If the defective medical device was a known issue and the hospital staff still used it, causing your injury, you may be filing a claim against the hospital or staff. If the defective medical device was later found to be defective due to a previously undiscovered manufacturer’s defect, you may file a claim against the manufacturer.
A medical device attorney in Illinois from the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. can help you with your medical device litigation no matter what the situation. An experienced medical device attorney in Illinois will determine who is liable for your injuries and help you seek the compensation you deserve for your medical malpractice damages.
