Medical Equipment Failure Injuries in Albuquerque
When it comes to medical equipment and health care technologies, proper performance is a matter of life and death. Patients rely on the medical equipment used in their care and treatments to work properly. Medical equipment failures are extremely dangerous and can result in patient harm or death. A patient injured by a medical device defect or equipment failure in Albuquerque may be able to pursue medical malpractice financial compensation in Albuquerque by taking legal action.
What Are Common Examples of Medical Equipment Failures?
Modern-day health care relies on various devices, systems and technologies to properly diagnose, treat and monitor patients in need. Medical providers rely on many different types of equipment to safely and effectively perform their jobs. The proper installation, usage and maintenance of medical equipment is essential to patient safety and quality of care.
Medical equipment failures describe any incident where a device or piece of equipment used in a health care setting does not function as intended. This can refer to a single malfunction or a complete breakdown. Examples include:
- Dialysis machine failures
- Surgical tool defects
- Monitoring machine failures
- Lab or imaging equipment mistakes
- Ventilator breakdowns
- Faulty pacemakers
- Insulin pump failures
- Software glitches
When a piece of medical technology or equipment stops functioning as it should, it becomes unreliable and unsafe. Depending on the type of device, system failure can be critical and cause life-threatening complications for the patient.
Types of Injuries Caused by Medical Equipment Failures
When a piece of medical equipment malfunctions or stops working, it can lead to issues such as misdiagnoses, medication overdoses, overexposure to radiation, respiratory failures, birth injuries, anesthesia or intubation problems, or surgical errors. The impact of medical equipment failure can be immense. An affected patient may suffer:
- Site infections
- Organ injury or damage
- Blood vessel damage
- Internal bleeding or hemorrhaging
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Brain damage
- Nerve damage
- Cuts or lacerations
- Allergic reactions
- Reactions to toxins
- Bone fractures
- Joint dislocations
- Wrongful death
The damage caused by a faulty medical device can be severe. The patient may suffer permanent disfigurement or disability, as well as lost quality of life and the need for additional medical care, such as revision surgeries. The failure to receive the level of care needed could lead to a worsening of the patient’s medical condition and increased odds of morbidity (death).
What Causes Medical Equipment Failures?
Adverse incidents caused by medical equipment failures often involve human error. Careless actions by medical device manufacturers, doctors and nurses can contribute to these disasters. Many unsafe actions can trigger medical equipment failures and adverse consequences. Recognizing and understanding these issues can help prevent safety breaches:
- Low-quality or faulty materials: medical device failures may be due to product defects, including the use of low-quality materials that do not meet the FDA’s standards. One study by EWI found that 30 to 40 percent of medical device recalls are due to material issues.
- Inadequate medical device testing: manufacturers are legally required to run new devices through stringent quality and safety tests. Skipping steps to get a new medical product on the market faster can compromise patient safety.
- Improper equipment setup or operation: user error can take the form of a hospital worker improperly installing, setting up or programming a piece of medical equipment, resulting in device failures later on.
- Mechanical wear and tear: medical devices – especially those that are implanted in patients’ bodies, such as hip replacements – can suffer general wear and tear over time through repeated use. Improper equipment design, storage and handling can contribute to these issues.
“Unexpected” medical equipment failures may not really be unexpected at all; in many cases, equipment failures and breakdowns are foreseeable based on one or more mistakes made. Many parties come into contact with a medical device from the time it is created to the time it is used on a patient. If any of these parties is negligent, or fails to act with proper care, the equipment can experience a critical failure.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Harmful Medical Equipment Failures in Albuquerque?
Some medical equipment failures in Albuquerque are severe enough to result in medical malpractice claims. The party named as the defendant, however, will depend on the circumstances. An investigation into who or what caused the equipment to malfunction can determine who to hold liable, or legally responsible. Common defendants in medical equipment failure cases are:
- The user: the health care practitioner in charge of operating the piece of equipment could be liable if he or she made a preventable error, such as failing to follow the product’s instructions for use or operating equipment unsafely to save time
- Equipment manufacturer: if the faulty piece of equipment is the subject of a recall due to a design, manufacturing or marketing defect, the manufacturing company that created the product can be held responsible through a product liability lawsuit in Albuquerque.
- Maintenance crew: some medical devices malfunction or break down because of improper maintenance or installation. The owner of the equipment is responsible for inspecting, maintaining and repairing it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Holding someone liable for a medical equipment malfunction requires evidence of certain elements, including a breach of the defendant’s duty of care to the plaintiff. A medical malpractice claim requires proof that a health care provider violated the required standards of medical care, resulting in injury to a patient.
How to Take Legal Action for Medical Equipment Failure Injuries in Albuquerque
Filing a civil claim for a harmful medical equipment failure in Albuquerque requires an understanding of the state’s related laws. If you have grounds for a medical malpractice claim, your case will have to pass a medical review commission before it can be filed with the courts.
In a malpractice suit, you or your attorney must prove that a medical provider acted outside of the standard of care and that this caused the equipment failure. A medical product liability claim in Albuquerque, on the other hand, generally does not require proof of the manufacturer’s negligence or fault.
Both types of cases have filing deadlines known as statutes of limitations, which make it important to act quickly. For assistance properly navigating your medical equipment failure claim in Albuquerque, contact an attorney at The Fine Law Firm for legal representation. Our law firm has the experience, personnel and resources to properly handle your medical device claim.