Connecticut Injury Attorney Blog

When a doctor uses a sophisticated medical device incorrectly, and a patient suffers an injury, what happens? Is the doctor liable for misusing the machine? Is the medical device's manufacturer responsible if it failed to warn of the risks of its product? American Medical News, a publication of the American Medical Association (AMA), examined these questions recently. Its report details how device information or labeling affects doctors' liability, and what steps the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken to protect patients.

The AMA relates the story of a Kentucky man who went to an orthopedic surgeon for reconstructive shoulder surgery. The doctor implanted a pain pump in the man's shoulder to allow direct administration of pain medication to the shoulder joint. The man returned shortly with shoulder pain, and an exam found that he had developed chondrolysis, a condition that results in the loss of joint cartilage. Chondrolysis can be caused or exacerbated by the use of a pain pump to continuously supply anesthetic drugs. In other words, the pain pump implanted by the doctor may have destroyed the man's shoulder joint.

The man filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the device, alleging that the company failed to warn doctors and patients of the risks of using the pain pump, and that it did not notify doctors that some uses of the pump had not received FDA approval. The device manufacturer filed a claim against the orthopedic surgeon as a third-party defendant, arguing that the doctor was at fault for not using the pain pump correctly and not following the device's instructions or warnings about placement of the pump, and the use of anesthetics. While the plaintiff blames the device manufacturer for his injuries, the manufacturer seeks to hold the doctor liable.

This case, and many others like it, involves multiple competing theories of liability. The law forces the parties in a dispute like this to present all their competing theories to see whose wins the day. The doctor could be held liable under a theory of negligence, commonly known as medical malpractice. A doctor, as a licensed professional, owes a very strict duty of care towards patients. If a doctor breaches that duty of care through an error or omission, such as the misuse of a medical device, and the patient suffers injury as a result, the doctor is liable for those damages. This could include medical costs, lost wages, and past and future pain and suffering.