Surgeon, Medical Device Company Sued For Wrongful Death

A family filed a wrongful death lawsuit after their loved one died during a lumbar procedure. According to the surgeon, who is named in the lawsuit, a defective fiber-optic cable prevented him from seeing a dural tear that ultimately cost the patient his life. The family has filed lawsuits against both the surgeon and the medical device company alongside the hospital for failing to maintain the cables in good working order prior to the surgery.

When it comes to medical malpractice cases, doctors tend to blame patients even as patients are blaming doctors. Here, you have an ideal situation for the plaintiff’s lawsuit because the medical device company is going to blame the doctor, the doctor is going to blame the hospital and the medical device company, and the hospital is going to blame the medical device company. No one is going to blame the plaintiff clearing a path for their lawsuit. Ultimately, however, the plaintiff is dead, so the idea that the plaintiff is benefiting from this situation is incredibly cynical. No one benefits from a wrongful death. Everyone loses.

Understanding the claims against the medical device company 

There are two ways to prove a claim against a medical device company. The first way simply involves alleging that the medical device is defective for its intended purpose. The second way is to allege that the medical device company never reported known dangers of the medical device to the doctor or patient, and the patient was preventable injured due to a failure to warn them about the dangers. The medical device in question is likely already a part of the evidence against the medical device company.

However, you can’t blame a company just because their device does work. You need to prove that a manufacturing defect or a design flaw contributed to the defect. In this case, the medical device company is likely to blame the hospital if it can be established that the medical device was defective. The hospital failed to maintain and service the medical device and allowed it to be used in an active surgery. The hospital will claim that they did all of that and the device was still defective. Further, there was no warning that the device was defective until after the surgery.

If that doesn’t work, then the medical device company will blame the surgeon for making a mistake during surgery or not checking known problem areas before closing up the patient. In this case, the surgeon did not realize that a dural tear was present which ultimately led to the plaintiff’s death.

In terms of lawsuits, it’s better to have the named defendants blaming each other. Traditionally, the strongest defense you can muster is to blame the plaintiff for their own injuries, even in medical malpractice cases. So, it’s a rare treat when all the defendants do the heavy lifting for you.

Talk to a Tampa Products Liability Lawyer Today 

If you have been injured due to a dangerous or defective product, the Florida personal injury attorneys at Halpern, Santos & Pinkert have the litigation experience you need to try complex cases against major powerhouse corporations. Call today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can help.

Source:

lawstreetmedia.com/news/health/depuy-sued-over-defective-fiber-optic-surgical-cable/