Lawsuit cites defective medical device

Having surgery can be a stressful, frightening experience. However, it can be the difference between life and death or pain and relief. In most cases, people feel much better after surgery. Sadly, for some patients, a procedure doesn’t go as planned or an inadequate medical device is used and a patient ends up feeling worse than they did before an operation.

It is the latter situation that recently led to a lawsuit in another state. It is a case that sounds unfortunately similar to many others in recent years and it involves a woman, a surgery and an allegedly defective medical device.

The woman who filed the lawsuit suffered from stress urinary incontinence. One common way that this condition can be treated is to implant mesh in a person’s pelvic area to support the bladder. However, in recent years, many people have experienced complications after this mesh has been implanted.

This woman’s situation was no different. Evidently, after the surgery the woman started feeling considerable pain and found that the mesh had eroded inside of her. This is a defect that has been noted by many other patients. People in this situation can suffer considerably and often need to have an additional operation to repair the damage and remove the defective implant.

The woman and her husband filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the mesh seeking damages suffered as a result of the defect.

Damages suffered in situations like this can be financial, physical and emotional. There are the added medical expenses a person takes on, the pain of a new or worsening condition and the stress and depression that can come with medical complications.

Considering how much of a toll medical issues can take on patients and their families across Miami, it can be crucial that parties are held accountable if they put a defective product on the market. Patients essentially have no control over how a medical device is made, sold or used, though they are the ones who pay the price when the device is defective or unsafe. Filing a legal claim is one way to send a powerful message that defective devices can cause harm and should not be used.

Source: The Louisiana Record, “Louisiana couple sues medical device manufacturer, alleging defective product,” Nick Bartholomew, Oct. 22, 2015