Essentially, there are two classes of staplers – disposable and non-disposable. There are three styles of staples that can be created by different staplers, depending on the type of connection required by the procedure. The staples are made of metal, either stainless steel or titanium, and have to be removed at some point. Plastic staples are also used, and there are staples made of polylactide-polyglycolide copolymer that are designed to be absorbed into the body. Anybody who has had a surgical operation involving a surgical stapler, and then discovered that the stapler had misfired or malfunctioned, causing them pain or other medical complications. At Peter Angelos Law, our personal injury lawyers have been dedicated to serving the legal needs of working men and women since 1961.
The companies often found manufacturing defects that could cause injuries. After you fill out the form, the attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or class action lawsuit is best for you. Surgical staples are used in many gastrointestinal, thoracic, and other types of surgeries.
Misfired and malformed staples have resulted in injuries and deaths of people who have undergone these types of surgeries. Ethicon recalled thousands of defective surgical staplers after patients were injured or died. Patients are at risk of surgical stapler complications if they have undergone surgery that involved internal staples. Unfortunately, it may be difficult or impossible for patients to figure out which staples were used in their surgery and if they are affected by the recall. Medtronic and Ethicon, which have been responsible for producing the majority of surgical staplers in the U.S., have recalled more than 3.4 million surgical staplers and other related products. Contact your surgeon to find out if the surgical stapler that was used in your procedure has been part of these recalls.
Surgical Stapler Lawsuit FAQs
The lot numbers, as well as additional information concerning the identification of the specific products being recalled, can be found on the FDA’s Medical Device Recall website. Defective hernia mesh devices lead to chronic pain, constipation, bowel obstruction, bulging, sexual dysfunction and additional surgeries to remove the mesh. Without a clear picture of the number of injuries and deaths a device has caused, doctors unwittingly conclude that a particular device is safe for consumer use.
Concealed FDA Database Left Patients Unaware of Potential Dangers
In May 2019, after backlash and thousands of lawsuits brought against Ethicon, the company issued a Class I recall of 92,496 units. A month after, the FDA designated the recall as Class I, which means that the particular Ethicon ethicon lawsuit staples surgical stapler causes serious side effects and dangers, even death. These devices – which operate much like the home, office, or construction staplers most of us are familiar with – use to close wounds and surgical openings.
Regrettably, Ethicon said issues with these round staplers were gotten in touch with the deaths of 2 individuals, the FDA claimed. While 41,000 breakdowns were reported to the general public database, an additional 56,000 were hidden from public sight. Amongst the 41,000 public reports, there went to the very least 366 fatalities and also greater than 9,000 severe injuries related to medical staplers in that 8 year period. When records from both databases were incorporated, the variety of fatalities increased to 412, as well as injuries climbed to 11,181.
Over the years, our personal injury attorneys have helped thousands of individuals throughout New York, Baltimore, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Tennessee, and beyond who have been injured. If you or your loved one was affected by the Ethicon surgical stapler recall, then you can contact us to know more of the requisites to file a Surgical Stapler Lawsuit. Lots of things can go wrong with the staples which lead to new injuries such as infection or allergy. The Surgical Stapler litigation is ongoing, and also attorneys across the nation are still approving instances. An additional case involved a 33-year old lady that bled to death in 2013. After surgical treatment, it was discovered that a malfunctioning stapler was used and also stapled her intestine against the wall of her rectum.
This reduces the amount of food a person can eat, making it more difficult to over-eat. Using surgical staples in stomach stapling procedures theoretically allows surgeons to perform more complicated surgeries more quickly. Surgical staplers were introduced in 1908 by Hungarian surgeon Humer Hultl. The first American company to produce them was United States Surgical Corporation in 1964. Since then, other manufacturers have entered the business, including Johnson & Johnson under the Ethicon brand, Covidien, and Medtronic .
