Serving Patients Across the Country Who Have Been Harmed by Dangerous Medical Products

It is frightening to realize that a medical device which doctors used to treat you or your loved one did more harm than good. Even worse: The device’s manufacturer may have failed to give an adequate warning about the complications that are now facing you or your loved one.

Our firm has years of experience handling these types of cases, representing patients and families harmed by defective medical devices. This experience has led to several opportunities to serve in leadership roles in a number of national forums, litigating these cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States.

Let us know what we can do to help you or your family. Call today or reach us online. Your consultation will be free and confidential.

What Is Our Experience with Defective Medical Device Cases?

The Driscoll Firm has established itself as a national law firm, representing victims of defective medical devices and other flawed medical products. We have worked with clients in cases involving:

• Class-action claims – When multiple plaintiffs, including one or more “representative plaintiffs,” file suit on behalf of “absent plaintiffs” that suffered similar harm from the same happening caused by the same defendant or group of defendants. However, cases involving personal injuries usually are not handled through a class action.
• Multidistrict litigation (MDL) – When multiple individual lawsuits involving common factual and legal issues and the same defendant (or group of defendants) are consolidated in a single federal court. The goal is to make pretrial matters proceed as efficiently as possible.

For example, our lawyers successfully resolved the claims of more than 200 plaintiffs in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota who had alleged injury from defective defibrillators manufactured by Guidant Corporation and by Medtronic. (Please see more of our Case Results.)

We have been fortunate, in that, our lawyers have sometimes been appointed as class counsel, state liaison counsel or as members of a committee of lawyers that make key decisions about how a case should be pursued.

Our experience with handling these leadership roles and with encountering the many unique, complex issues that arise in defective medical device cases serves our clients well.

At The Driscoll Firm, we can:

• Thoroughly investigate your case, including reviewing your medical records and other important evidence
• Consult with highly qualified experts about the nature and extent of your medical device-related injuries
• Handle the many layers of litigation involved with these cases, including filing all necessary paperwork, conducting discovery, preparing a case for trial and pursuing a just settlement
• Communicate with you as needed through text messages, e-mail, electronic newsletters and traditional mail (so you always know what is happening in your case).

Although we work with clients across the country, we make sure to keep each individual client’s goals at the forefront of our efforts. We work for you.

What Defective Medical Device Cases Are We Reviewing?

The Driscoll Firm stays at the leading edge of defective medical device litigation. Our firm currently is reviewing cases that involve:

• Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters – Studies and investigations have found that devices such as the Bard Recovery and G2 series IVC filters may tilt, fracture, embolize or perforate the vena cava, exposing patients to serious and potentially fatal health risks.
• Hernia mesh – Thousands of patients across the nation may have been harmed by hernia mesh patches such as the Ethicon Physiomesh, which was withdrawn from the U.S. market in May 2016 due to high rates of hernia recurrence and other issues.
• Catheters – Several reports have emerged in recent years of patients suffering injury due to the fracturing and migration of surgical catheters, including devices such as the Cook Beacon Tip and Fetch 2 Aspiration Catheters.
• Hip implants – Many concerns have been raised about metal hip implants manufactured by companies such as DePuy and Stryker. The devices may fracture, loosen and emit metal debris, causing infections, tissue damage, dislocation, pain and discomfort and forcing patients to undergo revision surgery.
• Transvaginal mesh – Numerous complications have been associated with mesh implants used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence, including erosion, infections, bleeding, organ perforation, painful sexual intercourse and urinary problems.

How Does a Defective Medical Device Lawsuit Work?

When The Driscoll Firm takes on your defective medical device case, some of the things that we may do during the life of a case include conducting a comprehensive investigation and consulting with knowledgeable experts about your case.

Depending on the facts of your case, including the medical device involved and the nature of the defect, we may then proceed with filing an individual lawsuit in the proper state or federal court.

The lawsuit may seek a recovery of past and future medical expenses, past and future lost income, pain and suffering and more.

The claim may allege that the medical device manufacturer:

• Designed and manufactured an inherently flawed device
• Failed to properly test the device before it was put on the market
• Failed to adequately warn about complications and side effects associated with the device by overstating benefits and downplaying risks.

After a lawsuit is filed, a case may go through extensive discovery. This is a formal information-gathering process that includes obtaining affidavits, conducting depositions, submitting questions (interrogatories) and making requests for documents. In some cases, a court order may need to be obtained to get a medical device manufacturer to comply with requests.

As a case moves forward, settlement negotiations may be held, which can be highly complex. If a case proceeds to a trial and verdict, a medical device manufacturer may opt to reach a settlement in order to resolve similar claims.

If a settlement offer is made in your case, you can rely on The Driscoll Firm to provide you with full information about the offer and to advise you accordingly. Ultimately, the decision to accept or participate in a settlement is yours alone to make.

Harmed by a Defective Medical Device? What Steps Should You Take Next?

If you have reason to believe that you or a loved one has been harmed by a defective medical device, you should take immediate steps to protect yourself and your legal rights.

1. Check for a recall.

You should check on whether the device has been subject to a recall. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) features a list of recalls, market withdrawals and safety alerts on its website. Keep in mind: Even though a medical product has not been recalled, it may still have a dangerous defect.

2. See your doctor.

You should see your regular doctor or the specialist who implanted the medical device. The doctor can examine your condition and provide a course of treatment to address the complications and side effects you are experiencing.

3. File an adverse event report.

It is important to report the adverse event or problems you have experienced with a medical device through the FDA’s MedWatch program. By filing a report, you can help the FDA to determine whether it should take action to protect other patients from suffering similar harm.

Get Help Today from an Experienced Defective Medical Device Lawyer

As soon as you are ready to take legal action, contact the experienced defective medical device attorneys of The Driscoll Firm. We can put our experience handling complex civil litigation to work for you right away. We serve clients across the country. Contact us today and learn more in a free case review.