Medical devices are not always safe, and unsafe products reach the public all of the time. These include not just medical devices that can be returned or exchanged, like walkers, but also surgical prosthetics and devices that can only be removed through an expensive and risky surgery. Knee replacements, hernia mesh, steel pins, and other products sold to providers and embedded in patient’s bodies can all have disastrous consequences.
Auger & Auger Accident and Injury Lawyers has Raleigh defective medical devices lawyers handling ongoing litigation for any number of devices at any given time. We have represented clients who have been injured by IVC filters, hernia mesh products and more.
If you or a loved one have been hurt by a defective medical device or are currently experiencing symptoms that may be related to one, then you can explore your options for obtaining compensation from all liable parties. A Raleigh defective medical devices lawyer from Auger & Auger can investigate your case and take appropriate legal actions to help you file a claim.
In the event that a loved one has passed on, we can provide you with a wrongful death attorney in Raleigh to help you pursue both a claim as a family member and one as a legal representative of the deceased’s estate.
Call (919) 873-4955 or contact us online to speak with a defective medical device injury lawyer in Raleigh during a free, no-obligation consultation.
What Counts As A Defective Device In Raleigh, North Carolina?
A defective device is one that poses an unreasonable risk of harm to the user when the device is used as directed.
There are many types of “defects,” as well. These include the three main categories:
- Design defect: The device was designed in such a way that it poses an unreasonable and foreseeable risk of harm.
- Manufacturing defect: The device was made using manufacturing practices that were unacceptably low-quality, which introduced risks of failure or that failed to follow due diligence to ensure a safe end product.
- Marketing defect: The device was advertised or recommended for a use that would lead to an unreasonable and foreseeable risk of harm to the expected patient group.
Patients who have been harmed by their use of a defective medical device have to prove a number of things in order for their injury to be considered a direct result of the defect.
- The patient must have used the device in a manner intended by the manufacturer
- The injury to the patient occurred as a direct result of the device’s use
- The patient incurred an injury or another adverse event that led to economic losses and non-economic suffering, collectively referred to as “damages.”
- The manufacturer failed to adequately warn the patient of the risks, or the risks were unacceptable given a safer and equally effective alternative
How Negligence Applies To Defective Medical Devices In North Carolina
Some states apply a “strict liability” rule that holds product manufacturers responsible for any harm caused by their device. Unfortunately, North Carolina uses a weaker standard of negligence that tends to protect manufacturers while making filing a claim more difficult for injured patients.
Under the negligence standard, the injury victim has to prove:
- A duty of care that required the defendant to follow a law or act as a “reasonable person” would in their industry to prevent foreseeable harm from occurring
- A breach in the defendant’s duty because the defendant broke the law, ignored regulations, covered up a known unacceptable risk of harm, or generally failed to exercise “ordinary care.”
- Proximate cause, meaning that the defendant’s breach in their duty of care directly led to a harmful event or injury
- Damages caused by the harmful event or injury, which can be recovered through the legal system.
The key to this burden of proof is the fact that the manufacturer should have had some sort of warning or prior knowledge of a defect’s danger. If the manufacturer failed to research the safety of the product, for instance, then they could be found negligent. Likewise, if testing or standard industry practices indicated a risk of harm, then they had a duty to properly warn patients about those risks.
Because of these strict burdens of proof, many defective medical device cases in Raleigh and throughout North Carolina come down to either:
- Proving that someone had knowledge of a risk that they did not disclose, or
- Proving that standard industry practices and “ordinary” due diligence should have revealed a foreseeable risk of harm
Who Is At Fault For A Defective Medical Device Injury?
A device’s manufacturer is not always the sole party held responsible for the effects of a dangerous, defective product. Sometimes the device’s distributor or retailer is found at fault for selling a device for an unapproved use or causing a defect to arise during their handling of the product. A doctor could also be found to have committed malpractice because they recommended a device for an unsafe patient case or they surgically implanted the device in a manner inconsistent with the standards of their profession.
If You Have Been Hurt, Call A Raleigh Defective Medical Devices Attorney
Medical complications from defective devices can be severe, even deadly. Ignoring your symptoms or trying to pay for your case on your own can easily put you in a mountain of debt, even if you have private medical insurance.
Your Raleigh defective medical device injury lawyer will help you seek the maximum amount of compensation available for all of your damages. This can include compensation for your hospital bills, lost wages, out of pocket costs, pain and suffering, and any permanent side effects.
Call (919) 873-4955 or contact us online to schedule a free, no-obligation appointment where you can find out about your legal options for pursuing the most compensation available.
