Filing a Medical Device Defect and Recall Lawsuit in Charlotte

Many different medical device manufacturers and drug companies have made headlines for putting profits before the safety of their customers. With this in mind, it should not be surprising that they often produce defective or dangerous drugs before adequate testing has been done. Even the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has noted that large drug companies make decisions that are detrimental to the health and safety of patients.

If you or a loved one has suffered an adverse reaction or serious side effects, you may want to file a defective medical device case in North Carolina. Depending on the case, the injured party might even need to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. In a medical malpractice lawsuit, the injured party files a lawsuit against hospitals, doctors, nurses, medical device makers, and other healthcare providers. Sadly, every year, tens of thousands of people suffer serious injuries or die too early because of medical device defects.

Filing a lawsuit or claim against a defendant requires a comprehensive understanding of tort law in North Carolina. These lawsuits are often extremely complex. Victims of defective drugs or medical devices need to reach out to an experienced lawyer as soon as possible. If you have suffered an injury due to a defective product, contact the skilled personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC for your free case evaluation.

North Carolina has statutes of limitations that limit the amount of time in which victims and their surviving family must file a lawsuit. When the injured party fails to file the complaint to begin the lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires, they will be blocked from seeking financial recovery. The time period for the statute of limitations depends on the type of personal injury claim involved, such as the following:

• Product liability lawsuits: Six years
• Personal injury or negligence lawsuits: Three years
• Intentional tort lawsuits: One year
• Wrongful death lawsuits: Two years

The statute of limitations for medical malpractice lawsuits is somewhat complicated. The injured party must bring a claim in three years under the Discovery Rule. The injured party must bring the claim within one year of the reasonable discovery of his or her injury. The injured party can bring a claim no more than four years from the last act of medical malpractice.

However, if the medical professional leaves a foreign object in the person’s body, the injured party must bring the claim within one year of the discovery of the foreign object, but not more than 10 years after the medical professional left the foreign object in the injured person’s body. Minors can bring a claim until they turn 19 years old.

If the injury is discovered two or more years after the medical malpractice occurrence, you will have one year to file the lawsuit. As you can see, it is essential to speak with an experienced attorney as soon as possible after discovering your personal injury. At Arnold & Smith, PLLC, we can listen to you about your claim and help you determine the statute of limitations.

Medical devices save lives every day. People expect that they are receiving the highest quality medical devices. All too often, however, people develop other health problems when the medical device was improperly tested, designed, or manufactured. Some examples of defective medical devices include the following:

• Transvaginal mesh
• Guidant heart defibrillator
• IVC filters
• Hip replacements
• Cypher Stent
• Calaxo Bone Screw and ACL Injuries
• Bair Hugger Warming Blanket

If you have suffered an injury from a defective medical device, you should hold the manufacturer responsible for both your economic and non-economic damages. If you are successful, you might be able to recover the following different types of compensation:

• Lost wages
• Medical costs
• Future medical costs
• Permanent disability
• Pain and suffering

At Arnold & Smith, PLLC, we can help you file a lawsuit for your injuries resulting from a defective medical device. After reviewing the facts of your case, we can help you determine who you should hold responsible for your losses. The manufacturer of the medical device, the pharmacy, the medical device supplier, or the surgeon who implanted the device could be responsible.

Defective medical malpractice lawsuits are extremely complex. Time is of the essence. If you or a loved one has suffered injuries from a defective medical device, Arnold & Smith, PLLC might be able to help. Contact our experienced personal injury lawyers as soon as possible to schedule your free initial consultation.