Have you or someone you love been injured because of a defective medical device? You may be entitled to compensation. Contact Lavent Law, P.A. to learn about the benefits of filing a product liability lawsuit. Our Miami injury lawyers will help you hold medical device companies responsible for their defective products. Your first consultation is free, so call now.

Have You Been Injured By a Defective Medical Device?

Advances in technology have revolutionized modern medicine. Countless patients have benefitted from a medical device. Medical devices can both save lives and improve a patient’s quality of life. Unfortunately, medical devices aren’t always safe. Device manufacturers become more interested in profit than patient health.

In turn, the quality of many medical devices has suffered. Every year, the FDA recalls medical devices because of dangerous defects. These defective devices injure and kill thousands of Americans every year.

Why Should I Hire a Defective Medical Device Lawyer?

Medical device manufacturers are huge companies with seemingly endless resources. They’re prepared to fight you every step of the way if you decide to file an injury claim. You risk not recovering all of the money you deserve if you try to handle your claim by yourself. You can level the playing field and increase the likelihood of success when you hire an experienced attorney.

Here’s what you can expect when you trust the product liability lawyers at Lavent Law. We will:

Determine if other patients have suffered similar injuries after receiving the same device
Request documents to prove the device has been properly tested
Speak with medical professionals in charge of your care
Review medical records and history
Determine if the company has a history of selling defective medical devices, and
Consult with medical experts to assess the value of your injury case.

Our goal will be to determine the precise defect that caused your injury and identify why that defect exists. This information will help us as we negotiate on your behalf. If you’re not satisfied with the settlement offers you receive, we won’t hesitate to take your case to court. Most companies will want to avoid the cost and publicity of a trial, so they may be more inclined to increase their settlement offers.

Want to learn more? Contact our Miami office today. Our legal team is prepared to help you fight for the money you need and deserve.

Medical Devices Must Be Safe

Medical devices offer patients a new chance at life. However, there are always risks involved in medicine. Implanting a medical device in a patient can be dangerous. To minimize risks, medical devices have to be as safe as possible. In order to ensure that medical devices are safe, companies are subject to Florida’s product liability laws.

Under Florida state law, medical device companies have a legal duty to sell safe products. Specifically, those companies have to make sure that the devices are free from design defects, manufacturing defects, and marketing defects.

Design Defect: A design defect exists when a product is inherently dangerous because of the way it’s designed.

Example: Retrievable IVC filters are known to have metal legs that break away from the rest of the device. This defect involves the way the blood clot filter is designed. The problem will still exist even when the filter is manufactured properly.

Manufacturing Defect: A manufacturing defect exists when a product is not manufactured according to its design. A manufacturing defect can affect one medical device on the assembly line or an entire batch.

Example: Hernia mesh is manufactured using a different type of plastic than is called for in its blueprints.

Marketing Defect: A marketing defect exists when a company knows, or should know, that its product is dangerous but doesn’t pass that information on to consumers. This is also known as a failure to warn.

Example: A device manufacturer knows that its metal on metal hip replacements may cause metallosis. It doesn’t tell patients about this risk, depriving them of the right to make informed medical decisions.

If a patient is injured because of a defective medical device, they can file a lawsuit against the manufacturer.

How Do Defective Medical Devices Get Approved By the FDA?

Shouldn’t the fact that medical devices are defective be caught long before the device gains FDA’s stamp of approval? Ideally, yes. However, medical device manufacturers have been able to take advantage of a loophole in the FDA’s approval process. Using the FDA’s 510(k) clearance process, companies can get quick approval for medical devices without conducting extensive clinical tests. How? The companies just have to prove:

A similar medical device has already been approved by the FDA, and
Their device is just as safe, if not safer, than this other device.

As a result, defects are often only discovered after medical devices are sold to thousands of patients.

Will a Recall Hurt My Product Liability Case?

Not necessarily. Companies can recall a product if there’s evidence to suggest that the device is dangerous. Just because they issue a recall doesn’t mean that they’re protected against personal injury claims. In fact, a recall could even help your case. How? Recalls are typically only issued when there is evidence to suggest that a product is dangerous or when a significant number of consumers are injured. You can use this information to support your demand for compensation.

What Damages Are Available If I’m Injured Because of a Defective Medical Device?

Medical devices are supposed to improve your health, not make it worse. Your trust has been violated. Now you’re struggling with injuries that may affect you for the rest of your life. The company responsible for designing, manufacturing, or selling that product should be held accountable. You can do this by filing a product liability lawsuit for damages.

At Lavent Law, our attorneys will aggressively pursue compensation on your behalf, including money for:

Medical expenses
Rehabilitation
Nursing care
Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Disfigurement
Loss of enjoyment of life
Lost income and wages
Disability, and more.

We’ll fight to hold negligent medical device companies responsible for the pain and suffering they’ve caused. Call our Miami office today to learn more.

When Do I Have to File a Defective Medical Device Claim?

Florida law limits how long you have to file a product liability lawsuit. The statute of limitations for product liability lawsuits is four years. So, you must file your claim for damages within four years of the date you know- or should have known – you’ve been injured. You can lose the right to obtain a financial award from the medical device manufacturer if you wait too long to get started.

It can be hard to know when the statute of limitations for your case begins and ends. An experienced attorney can help you make sure that you get your claim filed on time. Do not hesitate to contact our law firm for assistance today.

Need Help?

Are you struggling with an injury because of a defective medical device? Do you need money to cover the costs of your injury? The experienced legal team at Lavent Law can help. Contact us today to schedule a free case assessment. When you call, we will listen to your case, explain your rights, and answer the questions you have. You have a short window of time in which you can file a lawsuit, so do not hesitate to call today.