Medical Products                                    

Safe medical products save millions of lives every day. However, some products are used improperly, and others are rushed into the market before they have been properly tested.

Common Cases:

• Use of medical products before adequate testing.
• Use of wrong-sized rods or pins during back, leg or arm surgery.
• Improper manufacture or installation of prosthetic joints.
• Inadequate testing of medicines by drug manufacturers.
• Inadequate testing, screening and storage of blood products.

Actual Case:
$1M awarded in August 2003 in Alabama

The Case:
77 year-old man was overmedicated with anti-seizure medication so severely that he suffered brain damage, severely altered memory and he became dependent on a cane and wheelchair.

The Details:
After a fall at his home, the plaintiff was hospitalized Testimony indicated that the patient was given a daily dose of Dilantin 300 mg from May 21-25. However, when he was moved to the hospital's rehabilitation floor, where he stayed from May 26 to June 1, he was mistakenly given 900 mg of Dilantin daily or more than three times than what his physician prescribed. The error: on May 25, the hospital pharmacy mistakenly indicated on the plaintiff’s chart that he should receive 300 mg of Dilantin three times a day.

According to a published account, the plaintiff was awarded $1,000,000 ($200,000 in compensatory damages and $800,000 in punitive damages).