There are many types of medical products or devices that are meant to help people but end up doing more harm than good. In the case of defective medical product or device, people may experience serious side effects, they may become very ill, or they may experience no symptoms at all and only realize that there is a problem when they receive a medical product recall notice or learn about it on the news. In any of these cases where a medical product or device is deemed defective, there are three types of product liability claims that can be filed. A Hudson Valley personal injury lawyer will assist people with defective medical products in determining if they have a case and what type of claim they can file in order to receive the settlement that they deserve.
The three types of product liability claims are: design defects, marketing defects, and manufacturing defects, which will be described in more detail as they pertain to medical products or devices.
Design defects – This type of claim involves problems that have always been present in a product, before it is manufactured. A design defect indicates that a product has been flawed since its inception and design stage, when the product was first created. A knee or hip replacement may be flawed due to a problem in how it was designed to fit into the body or in how it will hold up over time. Improper testing during the design stage is often the cause of flawed products.
Marketing defects – These defects involve products that may be perfectly safe when used properly, but the way that the product or device is marketing may be flawed. For example, a medication’s safety warnings may be inadequate, it may be labelled incorrectly, or the instructional information that accompanies the medication may not be accurate. Some critical information may have been omitted, or potential risks may not be described with enough detail for the person taking the drug to use it properly.
Manufacturing defects – This type of liability claim involves problems that occur during the production of the medical device or product. Manufacturing defects may be due to problems in the factory in which the product is manufactured, missed steps in product assembly, or flaws in the quality control system of the manufacturer.
When a person discovers that they have a defective medical product or device or have used a medication that has been recalled, it’s critical that they see both their doctor and an attorney. A doctor will assess the patient and determine what health risks there are and how they should proceed from a medical perspective. A Hudson Valley attorney will be able to determine if there is the potential for a personal injury settlement and will advise their client on their next steps from a legal standpoint.
