In the United States, Americans are living longer than ever before. There are several reasons for this, including advances in modern medicine and technology.

Such technology includes medical devices which replace herniated disks and immobilized hips, and pacemakers that treat heart disease among other devices. Some of these instruments have been absolutely lifesaving, while others unfortunately, have taken the very lives they were meant to help.

Dangerous and Defective Medical Devices

While some medical devices have proven to improve patients' quality of life, there are products on the market where their risks outweigh their benefits. A dangerous or defective medical device can include a surgical instrument, a pacemaker, or a hip implant to name a few.

If a patient sustains injuries or dies as a result of a dangerous medical device, it can give rise to a product liability lawsuit.

Even though a product is closely monitored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there can be hidden flaws that lead to debilitating injuries for patients who use them, namely because manufacturers don't allow sufficient "time" to see how patients react to a device.

A new medical device can be cutting-edge, but once it hits the market, doctors and patients soon realize that the device is flawed, and does not do what it promises to do.

In recent years, there have been numerous lawsuits against the manufacturers of hip and knee implants, IVC filters (for trapping clots before they travel to the lungs), birth control, power morcellators and transvaginal mesh.

Some of targets of these lawsuits are household names like Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, and DePuy Orthopedics. A closer look into these cases reveal that some of the companies that manufactured defective medical devices were well-aware of the complications, but hid the risk from the public.

If you have experienced an adverse event after using a defective medical device, contact a medical malpractice attorney to file a claim for the compensation you deserve!