Medical Malpractice Lawyers

In New York City, Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island, New York

The Supreme Court Strikes Again

 

Patients rights have been taken away by the Supreme Court, leaving them defenseless against medical device makers. The nine judges ruled against the estate of a patient who suffered serious injuries due to an alleged defective catheter, which burst during a procedure.

 

The Supreme Court found that the estate of Charles Riegel could not sue the manufacturer of the defective product (Medtronics Inc.) because the US Food and Drug Administration had approved it for the market. The court feared that states would impose requirements upon the manufacturers, which were harsher than those imposed by the federal government. In other words this is a case of federal preemption of state's rights. Patients have long held the right to sue manufacturers of defective medical devices in New York State. That right has been taken away.

 

Under federal law once a company complies with the US Food and Drug Administration's requirements the agency allows the product to be market. At the time Congress enabled the Food and Drug Administration there was no expressed intent to limit states rights or protect the manufacturer of medical devices. Activist judges on the Supreme Court felt otherwise.

 

Applying the rationale of the Court we can foresee this reasoning affecting other areas where the federal government allegedly has a role in protecting the public interest. The FDA supposedly approves drugs, yet we know of many instances where they fell short of insuring safety for patients. One has only to use their imagination to come up with a list of federal regulatory and approval agencies which are underfunded and understaffed.

 

If you or a loved one has medical malpractice questions, please contact the medical malpractice lawyers of Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, serving clients in Bronx, Manhattan, Long Island, Brooklyn, and Queens, New York.

 

 

 

Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C.
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