Medical device manufacturers have a responsibility to provide safe products. While there is always a certain amount of risk, it’s vital that these are disclosed in advance for alerting potential patients about the possible dangers. Medical companies can be held liable for any damage or injuries caused by their products to unsuspecting patients.
How Does Florida Law Define a Defective Medical Device?
Medical devices are essentially used for treating a disability, disease, injury, or illness. These include instruments, implements, apparatus, and machines for:
- Diagnosing or treating a condition or disease, or
- Affecting the function or structure of the body without chemical action
According to the law in Florida, medical devices that pose an unreasonable danger to patients because of the following reasons may be considered defective:
- Manufacturing defect: This refers to mistakes made during the manufacturing process, which may or may not affect all devices.
- Design defect: This points to an inherent design flaw that makes the overall product unsafe.
- Failure to warn: This means that consumers were not provided with adequate instruction or warning to make the product safe.
Strict liability is not involved in all defective medical device claims, which means in many cases, the burden of proof is on the injured victim to prove the negligent party’s liability. Injured patients in Florida have the legal option of pursuing a claim for compensation in case the manufacturer was negligent.
