Medical Device Errors

Medical devices are often life-saving. When they are used and monitored appropriately, they can be powerful tools for diagnosing or treating patients. Unfortunately, sometimes medical device errors can cause real harm to patients. If you believe you were injured due to a medical device error, you may be able to recover damages through lawsuit. Sometimes you may also be able to bring a defective product claim. A skilled Syracuse medical malpractice attorney can evaluate your chances of recovering damages through legal action.

Medical devices are instruments used to diagnose, cure or treat a medical condition. The use of medical devices is commonplace in the practice of medicine. Doctors use stethoscopes to listen to a patient’s heart and lungs. Sphygmomanometers are devices routinely used to measure blood pressure. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines are also commonly used medical devices, as are surgical lasers, stents, orthopedic pins, vascular grafts, intraocular lenses, and pacemakers. When a medical device that is used for diagnosis is used incorrectly, certain symptoms may not be discovered.

Sometimes the error that occurs with regard to a medical device is related to treatment. For example, there may be a failure to sterilize a medical device that is surgically implanted into a patient’s body; this can result in serious or even fatal infections. Sometimes the implantation of the device is made in error, and this can result in a worsening of a condition. Other medical errors can include failing to adequately monitor a medical device to make sure it is working properly and knowingly implanting a defective medical device.

If you have been injured as a result of a medical device error that you believe was made by a health care provider, you will need to establish all elements of a medical malpractice claim by a preponderance of the evidence. This means you will need to prove: (1) the defendant owed you a professional duty of care, (2) breach of the professional duty of care, (3) causation, and (4) damages. In other words, you will need to show that it is more likely than not that your health care provider’s actions or omissions with regard to the medical device at issue fell below the applicable professional standard of care and caused you harm such that you suffered damages.

You will need to retain an expert to testify as to what the professional standard of care was with regard to the medical device that was involved in your case, as well as how the professional standard of care was breached, and how the breach caused injuries.

By law, you will need to file a certificate of merit with a medical malpractice complaint. The certificate of merit states you consulted with a medical expert who concluded that your lawsuit has merit. The medical expert will need to be a doctor and confirm that there is a reasonable basis to sue the defendant, and that your health care provider deviated from practices accepted by the medical community, thereby causing you injuries. This rule, which is articulated in New York Civil Practice Law and Rules section 3012-a, was put in place to deter non-meritorious claims against providers and hospitals. It can make it more challenging and time-consuming to prepare to file suit, so it is important to retain a medical malpractice attorney as soon as you believe you have been harmed by a medical device error.

There are situations in which both a doctor and a manufacturer make an error with regard to a medical device and the result is a serious injury. It can be important to look at all contributing factors to the injuries and hold all parties accountable, including manufacturers when appropriate, if their negligence or other wrongdoing was involved in your case.

If you were injured as a result of a medical device error in Syracuse, you can consult a knowledgeable medical malpractice lawyer. DeFrancisco & Falgiatano represents people in Syracuse, Rochester, and throughout Upstate New York, including in Binghamton, Canandaigua, Auburn, Herkimer, Lyons, Wampsville, Elmira, Cooperstown, Lowville, Ithaca, Oneida, Utica, Watertown, and Oswego. Call DeFrancisco & Falgiatano at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form.