Can medical products cause injury, and if they do, should medical products lawsuits be considered? Here’s a look at three medical products that are currently under fire for allegedly causing serious medical problems themselves:
Gadolinium is a dye that’s injected into patients in order to enhance MRI images, making them easier to read. Several years ago, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning that the dye could be harmful to people who have kidney problems. Since then, almost 400 lawsuits have been filed by patients claiming that gadolinium caused them to suffer Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis, a debilitating, incurable disease that causes scarring to the skin and internal organs while weakening muscles, stiffening joints and causing itchy, burning, swelling skin.
Now, a jury in a federal court in Ohio has held GE Healthcare, a gadolinium producer, accountable for the causing the disease in a kidney dialysis patient who received a dye injection. Many more cases are expected to go to trial.
Mirena, an IUD used for birth control, can migrate after insertion, according to dozens of lawsuits recently filed against the manufacturer. The lawsuits claim that this can result in punctured organs, necessitating surgical removal and causing infection.
The serious medical claims follow complaints by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that the company made inflated assertions in its advertising about the product’s ability to improve intimacy, romance and libido.
DePuy ASR XL, a metal-on-metal hip replacement device manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, has been accused of causing blood poisoning, necessitating surgery to remove the device.
More than 10,000 people have made such allegations. The first lawsuit recently went to trial, resulting in a significant jury award against the manufacturer.
If you have been harmed by a defective product, or have questions about medical products lawsuits, give us a call for a free telephone consultation at 864.233.7200 or 1.800.903.8101.
Source: Legal Matters. Used by permission.
