Chicago Medical Device Lawyers

Medical products and devices include nearly all instruments used by doctors and health care providers to treat a disability, disease, illness, or injury. Some examples of common medical products and devices include implants, stents, defibrillators, wheelchairs, pacemakers, vascular grafts, orthopedic pins, and contraceptives. Most patients trust that the medical devices prescribed by their doctors will work as intended and to their benefit. However, sometimes a medical device is dangerously defective and causes an injury. If a defective medical device harms you, you may bring a lawsuit with the assistance of a defective medical device lawyer to seek compensation for your losses. At Moll Law Group, our product liability lawyers represent people nationwide who have been hurt by defective medical products and devices, including Bard IVC filters, Biomet, Cook medical IVC filters, da Vinci surgical robots and dePuy orthopedics. We also can assist consumers injured by Gunther Tulip IVC filters, Mirena IUD, Nuvaring, power morcellators, Stryker hip replacements, talcum powder, and transvaginal mesh.

Pursuing Damages for a Defective Medical Device or Product

In order to win a product liability lawsuit for a defective medical product or device, you need to prove that the device has a dangerous defect, that you were harmed, and that the defect caused your injuries and resulting damages. The entities that may be held responsible for a dangerous defect in a medical product or device may include the manufacturer, independent testing laboratories, sales reps, the doctor who prescribed the medical device, or a retailer from whom the device is obtained, which is often a drug store. Product liability claims arising out of a dangerously defective medical product or device must be based on one of three types of defects: manufacturing defects, defective design, and defective marketing (also known as failure to warn).

Manufacturing defects usually exist in one or a limited number of products or devices from a particular product line. They may be the result of an error in the manufacturing process or somewhere along the chain of distribution, such as during shipping. Design defects exist in all medical products or devices from a particular line because the flaws lie in the inherent design. In some cases, manufacturers know there is a flaw in the design, but they may conceal it and fail to recall the product. Defective marketing exists when there are inadequate warnings or instructions about how to use a medical product or device. In some defective marketing cases, the problem actually lies with someone other than the manufacturer, such as the health care provider that prescribed the product or device. A defective medical device lawyer can help you identify all of the parties that may be responsible.

Many medical product or device cases hinge on how adequately the manufacturer or sales rep informed the physician about the product or device. The learned intermediary doctrine provides that a manufacturer of a medical product or device (or prescription drug) discharges its duty to warn consumers about risks associated with the product by warning prescribing physicians about how to properly use a product or device and any risks to using it. The duty to warn is owed to the doctor, rather than the public. The doctor is considered a "learned intermediary" who will take warnings and instructions and consider them in the context of a patient's situation.

In some cases, people who are injured by a medical product or device may also have a medical malpractice claim against the physician or hospital that prescribed or dispensed the product or device. Although both claims require experts, different procedural rules will apply to the medical malpractice claim than to the product liability case.

Defective Medical Device Attorney for a Product Liability Claim

The injury attorneys at Moll Law Group help consumers throughout the United States seek damages after being hurt by a dangerous medical product or device. We bring product liability lawsuits of significant size and impact in states across the country, such as in New York, Texas, South Carolina, Ohio, and Missouri. Billions of dollars have been recovered in cases in which we have been involved while shaping consumer law and policy. Call us at 312-462-1700 or use our online form to arrange a free initial consultation with a defective medical device attorney.