Medical devices can transform your life for the better. When those devices malfunction or prove defective, on the other hand, they can lead to substantial injury, not to mention leading to a significant decrease in the patient’s quality of life. Each year, an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 medical devices get pulled from the shelves due to defective designs or serious problems they may have posed for patients. Before recalls, countless patients often suffer severe impacts from those defective devices. If you have suffered a serious medical problem due to a defective medical device or equipment, the experienced defective medical device lawyers at Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys can help. Contact us now to learn more about your right to compensation. 

Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys: Fighting for Justice for Residents Injured by Defective Medical Devices in Chicago, IL

At Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, we help relentlessly pursue justice for clients who may have sustained injuries due to defective medical devices. Since our firm’s founding in 2009, we have helped countless clients in Chicago recover the compensation they deserve for serious injuries, including injuries related to medical devices. We help our clients navigate the often complicated legal system.

The Compensation You Deserve

Defective medical device errors can permanently change the course of your life, making it incredibly difficult for you to manage existing conditions or leaving you struggling with new symptoms of conditions you never had to deal with before. At Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, we make sure our clients understand the compensation they deserve for the losses they faced from a medical device error, including the compensation they deserve for their increased medical costs and pain and suffering.

We help establish the damages caused by defective medical devices.

To file a claim for compensation related to a defective medical device, you must establish the damage caused by that device and that the damage came from the device, not from an outside source. At Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, we help our clients go over the full damages they may have suffered and establish where they came from. Our team helps conduct research into the defective medical device to help uncover the source of the defect and the injuries that the defect could cause. We may also look at other individuals injured by those devices to help determine whether their claims could influence yours.

We Work Hard to Get You Maximum Compensation

Often, victims injured by defective medical devices have a long road ahead of them as they fight for the compensation they deserve. At Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, we walk our clients through every stage of that process, from helping them put together an initial case for a medical malpractice review board to putting together a claim against the company directly. When our clients’ claims have to go to court, we provide relentless representation to enhance their chances of success.

Types of Medical Device Defects

Medical device defects may occur in a variety of products. Any medical device has the potential to malfunction, and defective designs or errors in the manufacturing process can lead to serious concerns. Common medical device claims include:

Medical device defects usually occur in one of several key ways.

Defective Designs

Sometimes, defective designs may lead to serious medical device problems. Often, a device seems reasonable or practical on the surface. Once it goes into production and use, however, that defective design may lead to serious dangers for the patient using that device. Take metal hip replacements, for example. Metal offers a strong design that seems like it could stand up to any test the patient puts it through. Unfortunately, metal-on-metal hip replacements rub up against each other as the body moves. Over time, they release microscopic metal particles into the blood, which can build up in the body over time, causing toxic metallosis. Defective designs can also occur in pacemakers and other medical implants.

Manufacturing Errors

Sometimes, the problem with a medical device does not occur in its design, but rather during the manufacturing process. While manufacturing the device, the manufacturer may commit a production error. Inadequate testing can cause that device to make it into production. Suppose, for example, that a medical device gets created with jagged edges, or inadequate protections to prevent it from impacting the body. That manufacturing error could occur to a single device or multiple devices. Without testing to verify the quality of those items before they go out to patients, those defective products could lead to serious injuries.

Inadequate Labeling and Warnings

Many medical devices have highly specific uses. Not only that, patients may need to know a great deal of information about how those devices will affect them long-term and how to ensure that they use the device correctly. If the manufacturer does not ensure that both patients and physicians have adequate access to medical device information that will guide them in the appropriate, responsible use of that product, the manufacturer may bear liability for any damages caused by that lack of information and knowledge. In addition, patients may need to have access to that vital information to make decisions about their treatment. If the manufacturer does not provide that information, and the patient receives a medical device that decreases the patient’s overall quality of life, the manufacturer may bear liability.

Who Bears Liability in Defective Medical Device Claims in Chicago, Illinois?

In many cases, the manufacturer of the defective device may bear liability for any damages caused by those claims. Manufacturers of medical devices bear a strong duty of care to produce devices that help rather than harm the people that use them. Sometimes, however, other entities may also share liability for a defective medical device: most notably, the doctor who implants the device. A lawyer may ask several key questions about your treatment and how the physician overseeing your case handled it, including:

  • Was the device recalled before you received it or used it? Did your doctor know about the recall?
  • Did the doctor know about any potential defects in the product before using it?
  • Did your doctor offer you all available information about the product so that you could make an informed decision?
  • Did your doctor find out about the recall, but fail to notify you about it so that you could make decisions about your care moving forward?

If your doctor violated the standard of care during your treatment, you may need to file a claim against the doctor as well as the manufacturer of the product. Talk to an attorney to learn more about your right to compensation.

Recovering Compensation for Defective Medical Devices in Chicago, IL: What You Can Claim

If you have faced serious injuries due to a defective medical device, you may wonder how much compensation you deserve for those serious injuries. In many cases, patients face substantial financial and non-financial losses due to those defective devices. You may require further invasive medical procedures or note a decrease in the quality of your life while you continue to use that device. What compensation do you have the right to claim for those losses? At Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, we cannot offer a guarantee about the compensation you can recover for a defective medical device. However, we can help you break down your financial losses and suffering related to the defective device, then offer an assessment of the compensation you should ask for as part of your defective medical device claim.

What additional medical expenses did you face because of a defective medical device?

Defective medical devices may lead to substantial increased medical costs. In some cases, defective medical devices may cause serious injuries, for which you may need additional treatment. In others, you may need to have more medical procedures to replace the defective device. This can mean an expensive surgical procedure and an increased need for in-home care, additional time spent in physical therapy, or increased expenses for hospitalization. Your defective medical device claim should include all additional medical expenses incurred because of the defective device.

Did your defective medical device cause you to miss more time at work?

The amount of time you lose at work may depend on the extent of the injuries caused by a defective medical device as well as the type of work you usually perform. Suppose, for example, that you had a metal-on-metal hip replacement, which required 6-8 weeks in recovery before you could return to work. A second hip replacement to remove the defective device and eliminate the potential for future injury and illness may lead to an additional six to eight weeks in recovery. In some cases, you may have a longer road to recovery ahead of you, or those additional procedures may mean that you cannot return to your previous profession due to increased disability. Talk to your lawyer about the income you have lost as a direct result of the defective medical device and what steps you need to take to protect your income in the future.

How has the defective medical device impacted your overall quality of life? What suffering has it caused?

Some defective medical devices can have an intense impact on the patient’s overall quality of life. A defective pacemaker, for example, could leave your heart racing out of control or beating too slow, which could mean that you cannot participate in many of the activities that you usually enjoy—especially when even walking across the room leaves you out of breath and uncomfortable. Other defective medical devices may cause immense pain and discomfort because of the nature of the defect. Talk to your lawyer about the suffering you have faced due to that defective device, from the loss of your overall independence to the physical pain that may have gone along with the defective device. Most defective medical device claims will include compensation for the pain and suffering you faced, which can help increase the compensation you can recover and give you funds to rebuild your life following your injuries.

Did you lose a loved one because of a defective medical device or equipment?

While defective medical devices can have a detrimental effect on an individual’s quality of life, they can also lead to another serious outcome: death. In some cases, defective medical devices might cause errors that lead to the patient dying. Sometimes, doctors might not even realize the source of the problem until after the patient’s death. The loss of a loved one can prove catastrophic at any time, but it may prove especially devastating when you thought your loved one’s condition had received appropriate treatment, only to discover that the medical device intended to improve quality of life led to death instead.

If you lost a loved one due to a medical device error, you may have the right to file a wrongful death claim. A wrongful death claim may include compensation for your loved one’s final medical expenses and suffering as well as compensation for the losses your family may have faced, including the loss of your loved one’s income, the loss of your loved one’s presence in your life, and the loss of the benefits your loved one generally provided to the family. Talk to a lawyer to learn more about the compensation you can claim following the loss of a loved one due to a defective medical device in Chicago.

Contact the Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorneys in Chicago for More Information

Did you suffer injury due to a defective medical device? Contact Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys today at (312) 726-1616 for your free consultation. We’re ready to talk to you about your experience and let you know what we can do to help you. Please call now so we can get started.