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Sulzer Implants
- On December 8, 2000, Sulzer Orthopaedics, a major manufacturer of hip
replacement parts, recalled its inter-op acetabular shell for hip implant.
This recall may affect 17,500 patients. The implant is defective because of
the presence of mineral oil that can prevent the surface of the Inter-Op®
shell from bonding properly with the patient's own surrounding bone and
tissue. This makes the hip joint unstable and causes increasing, abnormal pain
and ultimately a re-operation to replace the defective implant.
Sulzer is conducting an aggressive campaign to contact the recipients of the
implants, and offering to settle their cases for their insurance deductible,
obviously far less than the victims are entitled . If you've been contacted,
you need legal advice to determine whether to settle your claim or not.
Please call us for a free consultation.
Latex Allergy
- Health care providers have been wearing latex gloves for decades. Indeed,
contact dermatitis arising from chemicals used in the manufacture of latex
gloves has been well documented since the 1930's. In the past decade, however,
the incidence of debilitating, if not life-threatening, development of latex
glove-induced protein allergies has been linked to repeated latex glove
exposure. Many of those inflicted have sought relief through worker's
compensation and disability programs. The manufacturers of the gloves,
however, bear the responsibility for manufacturing gloves that were not
properly processed so as to remove the latex proteins from the gloves before
distribution to the public. Moreover, the manufacturers bear responsibility
for failing to warn the public of the severe risk of continued exposure to
latex gloves, especially in health care settings.
Pacemakers
- Pacemakers are designed to be life-saving devices, taking over for the
heart when it cannot stimulate a beat on its own. Usually the devices
function flawlessly for many years until such time as their battery needs
replacement. But many devices do not function as promised, and patients
across the country have had problems with these devices. Death, stroke,
and paralysis are some of the complications associated with poorly placed and
defective heart pacemakers. If you have had problems with your heart
pacemaker, we would be happy to consult with you.
Joint Replacements
- The replacement of a painful and dysfunctional joint will usually
eliminate, or at least greatly reduce pain, and restore most of its normal
function. After a period of recovery and rehabilitation, a patient can enjoy a
normal life which may include resuming work provided it is not strenuous.
Another great benefit of such surgery is the elimination or reduction of
dependence on drugs with their related side effects. This has been such a
great incentive to many that, annually, more than 500,000 total joint
replacements are performed in the United States. However, some in the field of
orthopedics have not done an adequate job of educating patients on the risks
associated with such replacements. In addition, manufacturers often escape
liability for poorly designed or defectively manufactured devices because of
the difficulty and expense in screening and litigating these cases. In the
early 1990's, many attorneys that handle orthopedic implant and medical device
cases found, through discovery, that many of these devices were placed on the
market although they were not approved for use by the FDA. In essence,
clinical studies were being performed on patients without their knowledge or
consent. If you believe you may be one of those affected, please contact
us.
Heart Valves
- Some heart valves are not properly treated at the factory. There
have been numerous recalls of heart valves across the country.
Frequently patients are the last to know that their device is not functioning
properly. Sometimes the devices are negligently installed. If you
have had to undergo heart valve replacement surgery, it may be due to a
defectively designed heart valve, or one that has been improperly installed.
If this has happened to you, you may want to consult with our firm.
Mechanical Ventilators
- Mechanical ventilators are life support equipment that breathe for
patients who cannot breathe themselves. Frequently these devices fail in
the home or in the nursing home due to electromechanical interference or due
to maintenance failures. In either situation, the patient, deprived of
life-giving oxygen, dies. If you have a loved one who died on a
mechanical ventilator in a nursing home or home care setting, contact us for
an analysis of the case.
Warming Blankets
- These devices are meant to warm patients slowly and carefully. Some
devices are not properly maintained, and produce injuries. If this has
happened to you or to a loved one, contact us.
PCA Pumps
- Patient Controlled Analgesia Pumps are designed to automate the process of
delivering pain medication. They have safety lockouts that are designed
to prevent a patient from delivering too much medication in too short a time.
Some devices, however, particularly those made by Pharmacia Deltec, have a
problem with their locking devices that cause them to malfunction and free
flow into the patient. The CADD pump made by Pharmacia (now Simms-Deltec)
is particularly susceptible to this failure and there are numerous reported
cases of death resulting from this device. If this has happened to your
family member, contact us.
Pulse Oximeters
- Numerous pulse oximeters made before 2001 have serious defects that render
them unstable and unreliable in situations where the patient has a low blood
pressure or where the patient may be moving. Recent clinical studies
have indicated that false alarms from inaccurate alarms and the tendency of
clinicians to ignore false alarms (that are actually true alarms) has caused
numerous injuries and more than a few patient deaths. If you have had a
loved one monitored on a pulse oximeter and been told that the pulse oximeter
showed that the patient was being adequately monitored (when in fact, the
patient suffered a hypoxic event or a cardiac event that went undetected)
contact us.
Other Medical Devices
- There are hundreds of medical devices out there that malfunction and may
be designed or manufactured improperly. If you believe you have
been hurt by a medical device, contact our office.
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