Medical Device Safety Act would restore needed safeguards and allow victims to be compensated

When 2 ½ year old Avery DeGroh’s defibrillator shocked her nine times because of a broken lead, her mother “grabbed her to hug her, and…could feel all the electricity jolting back and forth, cycling through her body.” (Details here.) The defibrillator lead was soon recalled by manufacturer Medtronic, but the DeGroh family was still stuck with $30,000 in medical bills for the cost of replacing the device, not to mention the trauma of Avery’s experience. DeGroh’s mother explains that “as the law stands, we don’t have any way to seek compensation for what Avery has gone through…we were just asking for her hospital bills [to be paid].”

The DeGroh family and others testified before the Senate’s Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on August 4 in support of the Medical Device Safety Act (MDSA), which will restore an injured patient’s right to sue manufacturers.

Without a change in the law, medical device manufacturers will continue to enjoy complete immunity from liability under the Supreme Court’s 2008 Reigel v Medtronic decision. This is true even if a defectively designed or manufactured medical device injures or even kills patients.

The MDSA, sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), would restore the right to seek justice in state courts for patients who are injured by faulty medical devices. MDSA (designated H.R. 1346 in the House and S. 540 in the Senate) would simply overturn the 2008 Supreme Court decision which found that a 1976 federal statute allowing FDA to regulate and approve the marketing and sale of medical devices also broadly preempts state authority, including those state laws that allow injured consumer to sue a manufacturer.

At the hearing, Dr. William Maisel, Director of the Medical Device Safety Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, testified that while “we are fortunate to have the preeminent medical regulatory system in the world,” the FDA must regulate “more than 100,000 different medical devices manufactured by more than 15,000 companies.” After approval, the FDA must rely on manufacturers to report problems because they simply do not have the resources to adequately monitor all of the devices on the market.

Before Riegel, lawsuits were the main incentive for device companies to report problems. But in light of the Riegel decision, manufacturers have little, if any incentive to report problems, because to do so might decrease sales. In short, now that consumers cannot sue, there is very little incentive for manufacturers to act responsibly and inform FDA as soon as they have evidence of public health risks associated with their devices.

Bill cosponsor Senator Harkin described the ability to sue manufacturers as an important “safety net” that is complementary to FDA regulation. “In our system of justice, access to the court system is critical in exposing dangers and bringing about remedies.” (Watch the hearing here.) Another victim of Medtronic’s defective defibrillator lead, Nick Evola, was shocked 43 times. According to his lawyer Wendy Fleishman, “Medtronic put profits ahead of patient safety. They were aware the device was failing at abnormally high rates but continued to market it as alleged in lawsuits filed against the company.” (See article here.)

The profits on medical devices are significant. In 2008, Medtronic’s revenue topped $13 billion, with $10 billion in profits, according to the American Association for Justice, an advocacy group supporting the MDSA.

In support of the bill, Dr. Maisel cautioned that “the Riegel decision eliminates an important consumer safeguard – the threat of manufacturer liability – and will lead to less safe medical devices and an increased number of patient injuries.”

Senator Harkin explained at the hearing that “this bill is really about real people, who have been…let down, sometimes catastrophically. Right now they have no access to justice and no ability to hold those that cause them harm accountable.”

Janice Baird, another supporter of the bill whose son died due to a defective pacemaker, explained that the law is needed because manufacturers “have to be responsible, and [because the law] will also, in my heart, give me some peace to know that Robert’s death was not in vain.” (See article here.)

More information can be found in our Fact Sheet on the MDSA, or at the website stopcorporateimmunity.org.