Unfortunately, thousands of people suffer from medical and healthcare negligence a year. Defective medical products and devices can often lead to serious injuries and, in worst-case scenarios, fatal accidents.
Our legal team recognizes how devastating these losses are, and we want to connect you with a defective medical device lawyer in Baltimore who can represent you as you fight to recover.
You are entitled to compensation based on losses sustained due to a manufacturing defect or defective product that compromised your physical well-being.
Keilty Bonadio has helped Maryland residents take legal action against pharmaceutical companies, advertisers, drug manufacturers, and other parties. You can take advantage of our knowledge of the law to secure maximum compensation for your losses.
Schedule a free case consultation with our product liability lawyers in Baltimore today to discuss the civil process.
What Constitutes a Defective Medical Device Claim in Maryland?
A lot of people rely on medical devices on a daily basis to be able to live and function normally. The definition of “medical device” is broad, so it can better encompass everything from artificial hips and walkers to electric toothbrushes.
So long as a device helps someone overcome a weakness of the body, it constitutes a medical device.
As such, medical device claims, a subset of product liability claims, can address design defects in a wide range of products. Some of the most common to see their quality tested by product liability laws include the following:
- Hernia mesh
- Defibrillators
- Stents
- Implants
- Infant warmers
- Contraceptive devices
- Faulty test strips
- Insulin pumps
Prescription drugs, including arthritis drugs, can also put someone’s health at risk, particularly when paired with an incompatible medical device. While prescription drugs aren’t technically medical devices, their impact on your health may still entitle you to a civil case. You can discuss the specific circumstances with a Baltimore personal injury lawyer.
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Examples of Recalled Defective Medical Devices in Maryland
The FDA is the government agency charged with making sure that medical devices marketed and sold to the public are designed and manufactured in safe and effective ways and then thoroughly tested before being used in, on, or for the bodies of patients.
The FDA also catalogs product recalls when the above processes fail, including everything from mobility aids to baby formula. Three recent examples of recalled medical devices are described below:
Infant Warmers
In February 2019, GE Healthcare recalled a line of radiant infant warmers used in hospitals. The warmers were found to have broken side panels or latches that could open when the warmer was being moved. As a result, two babies fell from their warmers and sustained fractured skulls.
Faulty Test Strips
CoaguChek test strips were recalled in 2018 due to inaccurate test results. The strips were designed to measure patient response to warfarin, a blood thinner prescribed to prevent and treat blood clots.
While a faulty test strip will not cause any injuries, an inaccurate test result can cause a doctor to take unwarranted action or leave serious medical issues untreated.
Insulin Pumps
Many people with Type 1 diabetes use an insulin pump to monitor and manage their glucose levels. The MiniMed insulin pump was recalled in 2020 due to tens of thousands of complaints from users that the pump was either over or under-distributing insulin due to a missing or broken retainer ring.
These issues led to over 2,000 cataloged injuries and one death.
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When to Contact a Baltimore Defective Medical Device Lawyer
Maryland’s personal injury statute of limitations provides three years to take legal action against the parties involved in your defective medical device accident.
If you want to take advantage of the legal process, we recommend that you contact a defective medical device lawyer in Baltimore, MD, as soon as you can after the adverse effects of your condition make themselves known. Your first case consultation with our team comes free of charge.
Protecting Your Rights, Pursuing Justice.
Start Your Claim TodayHow to Build Your Defective Medical Device Claim
To claim damages from a defective medical device, a victim must show that the device in question was defective and that the defect is the cause of their injuries.
The strategy for dealing with each case can be vastly different, but some common explanations to prove a defective medical device case could include inadequate product testing, faulty manufacturing, or poor design.
Defendants include anyone from the manufacturer of the medical product or device. Liable parties may subsequently include the doctor who used or inserted the device in the hospital or clinic where the operation occurred and the supplier (pharmacy, drug store, or another retailer) who distributed the product.
What Compensation to Ask for When Filing a Defective Medical Device Claim
Baltimore defective medical device attorneys want to make it as easy as possible for you to get fair compensation after a defective medical device upends your life. We use our free case consultations to candidly discuss your right to ask for damages based on your economic and non-economic losses.
The losses we can most often integrate into our clients’ claims include the following:
- Medical bills associated with your injury treatment
- Medical expenses associated with your initial use of a defective medical device
- Emergency medical care, as applicable
- Alternative treatment pursuits
- Lost wages
- Property damage, if applicable
- Emotional distress
- Pain and suffering
- Reduced quality of life
- Wrongful death and funeral expenses, if applicable
Your right to certain damages changes depending on whether or not you take your case to trial. Most defective medical device cases conclude in private negotiations.
However, if you go before a judge, that judge may award you punitive damages based on a provider’s gross negligence.
Defenses to Baltimore Defective Medical Device Claims
There may be many defenses opposing attorneys may try to use in a defective medical device claim. Defenses most commonly put forth by defendants like medical device manufacturers include the following:
- Outside the statute of limitations, where the personal injury claim or wrongful death claim was filed outside the statutory deadline
- Lack of standing, meaning you must be the injured party (unless you are a parent of the injured minor child)
- No duty owed, meaning if there was no duty owed to the victim, then you cannot recover, but it can also mean that the alleged duty was beyond what could be considered reasonable
- Modification, where the medical product was somehow modified by the customer or another person or entity, and the modification was the actual cause of the injury
- Misuse, meaning the victim used the medical device in a way that the device was unintended and that the situation could not have been reasonably foreseen
- Assumption of risk, where the product was dangerous only because it is inherently a dangerous product and a reasonable person would expect and avoid the danger when purchasing the device
- Comparative negligence, meaning in jurisdictions adhering to a form of comparative negligence, the victim may have contributed to the injury and, therefore, compensation would be reduced accordingly
- Contributory negligence, meaning in jurisdictions adhering to this type of negligence, if the victim contributed to the injury in any capacity, the victim may be unable to collect any amount of compensation.
At Keilty Bonadio, our personal injury attorney will build a strong case that addresses and counters each of these defenses.
Contact a Defective Medical Device Liability Lawyer in Maryland Today
One decision that can make all the difference for you is competent, effective legal representation.
Keilty Bonadio’s defective medical device attorneys in Baltimore, MD, will dedicate the time and effort required to provide the advocacy you need at a time when you most need it.
