Dangerous Medical Devices Can Pose Life-Threatening Health Risks
As medical science has become more advanced, medical devices have emerged as important tools used by surgeons to treat pain, increase mobility, and improve a variety of diseases and conditions. However, defective medical devices can cause death and injury because of how they are designed, manufactured, or used by your surgeon.
Heart stents and pacemakers that fail to work properly can lead to death, while faulty hip replacements and LASIK eye surgeries can result in significant injury and a permanent decrease in the patient’s quality of life. In many cases, additional surgeries are required to remove the defective medical device in an effort to correct the problems.
What Types of Medical Devices May be Dangerous?
While medical devices have helped surgeons make great strides in the treatment of heart disease, joint pain, and other diseases and conditions, the devices often cause serious injuries and even death. The types of medical devices that may be dangerously defective include:
- Heart Stents
- Hip Replacements
- LASIK refractive eye surgery
- Defibrillator leads
- Pacemakers
- Skin pain patches
- Pain pumps
Causes of Medical Device Defects
Medical devices may be defective for a number of reasons. A device may be unsafe as designed or in how it is manufactured, or the product may carry insufficient warnings to consumers about possible side effects of using the device. By law, medical device manufacturers must alert consumers to the possible problems and side effects their medical devices can cause.
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