Patients put a lot of trust in their medical devices—from implants to prosthetics to surgical equipment. For instance, pacemakers must provide exact electrical pulses to correct arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats), while surgical mesh must be sturdy enough to prevent the prolapse of bodily organs. Defective medical devices can, therefore, cause serious, even life-threatening problems, and their failure can lead to fierce product liability lawsuits. The information below should help you understand the types of failure and your rights as a patient.

What to Know About Defective Medical Devices

Medical devices fail during and after surgery more frequently than you might expect. Some typical examples include the following: 

• Metal Hip Replacements: When metal hips fail, patients can suffer internal damage and injuries due to a fall. Others have even incurred metal poisoning when chromium, cobalt, nickel, titanium or molybdenum parts rub against each other and shave microscopic particles into the blood.
• IVC Blood Clot Filters: These devices are meant to stop blood clots from reaching the lungs but have been known to move, tip, fracture, or even damage the vena cava, the large vein carrying blood to the heart.
• Transvaginal Mesh:  This surgical netting is meant to prevent organ prolapse and to treat incontinence, but mesh erosion and organ perforation have led to numerous lawsuits.

Do You Have a Right to Sue?

If you experience a defective medical device, you absolutely have a right to sue the manufacturer—and perhaps the hospital or surgeon—for damages. Normally in a liability lawsuit, you must prove negligence. However, Texas is a "strict liability" state, which means companies are by default responsible for their products, whether they were negligent or not.

You must only prove that 1) the company manufactured the product, 2) the defect made the product dangerous, 3) the product caused your injury, and 4) the product was not altered after leaving the manufacturer's facility.

If you or a loved one have had experience with a defective medical device, contact attorneys Reed & Terry in Sugar Land, TX, with additional locations in Katy and Richmond. They have served clients in and around Fort Bend County since 1994 and their two leads have more than 50 years of combined legal experience. In addition to these cases, they also practice wrongful death and personal injury law. Visit their website to reach out to them online or call (281) 491-5000 to arrange a consultation.