There is a multitude of patients in Tennessee and elsewhere who have suffered serious harm at the hands of a drug or medical device. Defective medical devices or drugs can place the health of a patient at risk and open him or her up to a variety of potentially catastrophic consequences. While the process of approval for medications is lengthy and stringent, the same cannot be said for medical devices.
In some cases, it could take as long as 10 years for the Food and Drug Administration to approve the sale of prescription medication. Such a lengthy process may allow ample time to test a product and correct any flaws. While there may be some who argue that this time frame is too long, ensuring a drug is safe to use could be essential to protecting the health of patients.
However, for medical devices, the approval process could take as little as six months. In this short time period, fully testing a device for flaws or safety concerns could be impossible. Recent reports indicate there were more than 30 different recalls on a variety of medical devices in the past year alone, and since 2008, faulty medical devices have reportedly claimed the lives of as many as 80,000 patients across the nation.
Defective medical devices can pose a serious threat to one's health. Those who suffer harm at the hands of such a product might be left wondering about the next steps to take to pursue restitution, and they could benefit from consulting with an attorney for advice on how to proceed. An attorney in Tennessee can examine the situation and assist a client in pursuing the full amount of compensation deserved through a claim against the party or parties deemed responsible.
