A: Medical device injury lawsuits are filed directly against the manufacturer of the device because the manufacturer was negligent by designing, producing, and selling a defective device. If you suffered an injury or became ill due to a defective medical device, you could be owed significant compensation for the harm you’ve suffered and losses you’ve incurred.

A: Generally, compensations cover medical costs, pain and suffering, mental and emotional anguish, and lost wages during the recovery period. If the injury caused permanent damage that prevents the victim from returning to their job, the compensation would also cover future lost wages. If the victim died, the compensation would also include funeral costs, the pain and suffering of the victim’s family, and the future lost wages.

A: Your attorney will do all of the necessary research into the medical device. All you need to provide are your medical records showing that the device was used on you and that you suffered harm after it was used. In many of these cases, the harm occurred months after the device was implanted, so just because you were “fine” for six months after your hernia repair operation does not “prove” the device didn’t cause your injury.

A: Since defective medical devices often harm a significant number of people, law firms will usually file two or three initial cases, sometimes called “bellwether trials”. These trials are held in front of juries and are used to establish whether reasonable, ordinary people believe that the facts support the claims about the defective devices. They are also used to establish the amount of compensation that ordinary people think should be paid to victims of these devices. Once a few bellwether trials have been won, the device manufacturer often agrees to settle all future claims out of court. Alternatively, a class-action lawsuit could be filed to seek compensation for a large number of victims in one trial.