Faulty Medical Devices Leading to Medical Malpractice | Medical Product Liability

Per the Hippocratic Oath, doctors must “respect the hard-won scientific gains” of their peers. Many of these advances occur in medical devices, which help manage or treat a host of conditions. Heart valves, pacemakers, catheters, and more have improved the lives of countless people. However, there is a darker side to the medical technology industry that doctors and patients might not know about. If you live in New Mexico and have witnessed faulty medical devices leading to medical malpractice, the lawyers of Carabin Shaw can help you build a case.

To better understand a growing branch of medical malpractice in New Mexico, we should first look at the medical device industry.

The United States is often at the forefront of medical discoveries, and a big part of this positioning is due to our innovations in medical technology. The industry consists of apparatuses or machines that prevent, diagnose, or treat a condition or disease. SelectUSA, a program by the U.S. Department of Commerce, reports that the United States makes up roughly 40% of the medical device market, which amounts to $156 billion. The agency estimates that this figure will grow to $208 billion by 2023. This market share makes sense when we consider how many Americans rely on a medical device—about 32 million.

New Mexico medical malpractice lawyers know that these numbers aren’t necessarily encouraging because the regulatory process that governs medical technology isn’t as stringent as many people expect. As a result, medical product liability lawsuits are increasing.

Though medical devices undoubtedly save and improve lives, the constant push for innovation in this field has had negative consequences. To encourage scientific discovery, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has created a loophole in its medical technology approval process. Though getting “FDA approved” requires thorough testing, attorneys know that getting new instruments “FDA cleared” is easy. To be “FDA cleared,” a medical device must be “substantially similar” to one that came before. To date, the vast majority of medical devices are FDA cleared rather than FDA approved. Many doctors don’t understand the difference between these two processes, so they don’t pass this information along to patients.

Some devices receive their FDA cleared rating based on patents from decades ago, and many of those earlier devices are no longer on the market because of high failure rates. In other words, companies are releasing devices based on poor previous models. The result? The Associated Press reports that medical devices have killed more than 80,000 Americans since 2008 and have injured many more.

Medical malpractice in New Mexico is coming to light in new ways, and our lawyers at Carabin Shaw want to advocate on behalf of affected parties.

The most common examples of faulty medical devices New Mexico medical malpractice lawyers see are:

• Metal hip replacements
• Transvaginal mesh
• Drug-coated stents
• Guidant defibrillators (pacemakers)
• IVC blood clot filters
• Essure birth control
• Mirena birth control
• LASIK eye surgery
• Spinal cord stimulators

New Mexico hospital negligence attorneys also see injuries caused by surgical robot malfunction.

The law firm of Carabin Shaw knows that faulty medical devices and resulting medical malpractice can change an individual forever. If medical negligence seriously harmed you or a loved one, our New Mexico attorneys can help you figure out your next steps. We have over twenty years of experience handling cases like yours, and we have a reputation for passionately advocating for our clients.

We offer free consultations to first-time clients because we want you to feel confident choosing our firm to represent you. During this meeting, we will listen to you and answer any initial questions you may have. If you are concerned about medical malpractice in New Mexico, we are here for you.

Call us today at 915-779-2301 or toll-free at 1-800-862-1260.