Bart Durham Personal Injury News & Blog

Medical Malpractice Product Liability

Written by Bart Durham Injury Law | Dec 8, 2021 5:26:00 PM

Almost every industry functioning in the U.S. is required to follow their own niche liability laws and regulations. However, when it comes to medical product liability or malpractice, personal injury can often times occur. With this in mind, breached ethical and legal obligations to the consumer’s well-being can typically require the need of an experienced injury law firm.

Consumers using products that can cause harm (intentionally or unintentionally) will result in a product liability obligation. In medical malpractice, it is the obligation to care for patients that can sometimes go wrong. By breaching these obligations, the responsible parties provided their consumer and patients with defective goods or services.

Product Liability in Instances of Medical Malpractice
  1. What Does Product Liability Have to do with Medical Malpractice? 
  2. Who is Held Responsible? 
  3. What Can You Do in Case of Malpractice & Liability Issues?

What Does Product Liability Have to do With Medical Malpractice?

In contrast to traditional injury law, product liability law focuses on determining who is responsible for selling and profiting from defective or dangerous products. This situation entails some form of responsibility for all parties within the distribution chain.

As a general rule, consumer protection law requires a product to perform the tasks that it has been promised. Consumers must not be exposed to undue risk, at the very least. The laws regarding product liability will vary from state-to-state, and each state will set its own standards for what constitutes negligence or liability.

With that in mind, in terms of medical malpractice, product liability may be at play here as well. Malpractice occurs when medical personnel, specifically physicians or other healthcare professionals, perform care negligently, resulting in patient harm.

In both cases, legal assistance is required. This Is especially true when there are health concerns related to the incident. In order to prove medical malpractice, the first step is determining whether or not the case constitutes negligence or malpractice. An experienced injury and liability lawyer can help you get the information you need for your specific case.

Medical Malpractice & Liability Cases Can Include:
  • Inadequate Instruction and Warning Label Defects 
  • Manufacturing Defects 
  • Medicinal Recalls 
  • Medication Defects or Issues
  • Unsafe or Defective Design 
  • Product Liability and Class Action Lawsuits
  • Misdiagnosis
  • Surgical Errors
  • Birthing Injuries
  • Delayed Diagnoses

Who is Held Responsible?

In terms of medical products, it takes a variety of distribution channels to get the medicine or other products out the door. With a vast line of manufacturers, assemblers, third-party distributors or wholesalers, transporters, providers, sellers and more, the process of figuring out who is liable can be difficult on your own.

It is quite possible that companies will cite this reason for not assuming responsibility of a product issue claim. In addition, product liability cases must prove that the product was defective, caused a serious injury, and posed a significant risk.

To prove malpractice or negligence, one is required to prove that a medical professional was at fault. Navigating these cases requires knowledge of the applicable legal codes and an understanding of this complicated process. An injury and liability lawyer will be able to help you determine the best steps in your unique case.

What Can You Do in Case of Malpractice & Liability Issues?

Several laws exist to protect consumers and patients, and ensure that companies and hospitals do not act recklessly. These regulatory laws are put in place to ensure that products are being sold responsibly and patients are being treated ethically.

Though these types of medical practice laws are designed to protect us, they can still be confusing. It is possible to navigate the medical malpractice and product liability legal process with the help of the right lawyer. In such cases of negligence, you may be able to find out what options you may have and whether you may be eligible to receive compensation.

Injury and liability lawyers can help you determine whether you may be able to receive compensation and can help you to establish the validity of your claim, whether the injury was caused by a product or medical personnel.