Supreme Court to Hear Major Medical Device Liability Case
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a product liability case with significant implications for the medical device industry and for any patient treated with medical devices. The Public Citizen Litigation Group is representing Charles Riegel, in the case Riegel v. Medtronic; a case stemming from an incident in which Mr. Riegel was seriously injured by a defective cardiac catheter. Medtronic asserts that the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act preempts state laws damages actions brought by injured patients in cases where the injury resulted from a device permanently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
According to Public Citizen, the question to be resolved by the court is, "Whether the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act expressly preempts state-law actions brought by patients who have been injured by medical devices that received premarket approval by the FDA." The court will hear the case next fall.
Previously on the DC Metro Area Medical Malpractice Law Blog, we have posted articles related to:
- Hospitals re-using single-use medical devices
- A medical device maker forced to settle an antitrust suit
- Drug and medical device manufacturers influencing physicians