Surgical Tool Malfunction Causes Serious Injury

I’m Katelyn Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

Today’s question comes from a caller concerned about a burn suffered during surgery.

The caller said he was injured during surgery due to one of the surgical tools malfunctioning. At least, that is what his doctor told him about why the injury occurred.

While doctors can and do make surgical mistakes, there can also be issues with malfunctioning surgical equipment that leads to an injury.

For example, not too long ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a recall of certain electrosurgery tools manufactured by a well-known medical supply company reporting that the usage of the tools could lead to injury or death.

The device is used with pediatric and adult patients and has caused burn injuries. The tools are soft pads that conduct an electric current through the patient’s body during electrosurgical procedures to heat, cut tissue, or stop bleeding.

Before the recall, the manufacturer received reports of 63 injuries related to using the devices. The FDA did not identify the cause of the patient’s burns, but the burns were noted to be quite serious.

While the manufacturer or seller may be legally held responsible for such burn injuries related to using the devices, a common defense a manufacturer would make is that the products were improperly used.

This likely means that whether the caller likes it or not, he may have to include his doctor as a defendant in a lawsuit against the manufacturer to prevent the product-maker from blaming the injury on the doctor. Unless the doctor is in the courtroom asserting that he did everything he was supposed to do, but the product still malfunctioned, the product maker could perhaps convince a jury that its product was not to blame for the injury.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”