Product Liability Lawyer Blog
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has effectively dismissed plaintiff efforts to seek damages against a medical pain pump device implanted post-surgery, finding there was no way at the time of the procedure the manufacturer could have recognized the device’s potential risk.
The case of Mack, et al. v. Stryker Corp., et al. focused on a 2002 surgery.
Boston product liability lawyers know, while this decision may impact some similarly-situated cases that date back that far, newer cases should still have strong standing. The primary issue in this case was what the company knew or should have known regarding the risks at the time the device was implanted in this particular patient. The district court ruled – and the Eighth Circuit affirmed – that such collective knowledge of any long-lasting, detrimental consequences was limited. Literature from the medical community at-large did not indicate any significant problems.
Continue reading