Houston Texas Plaintiff Litigation Law Firm

The word "litigation" naturally makes many people nervous. After all, the vast majority of people in Texas and throughout the country have never been involved in a lawsuit of any kind, except perhaps in a divorce or small claims case. In complex litigation, specifically, many people may think that the legal hurdles are simply insurmountable. That is where our law firm comes into play.

At our law firm, we work with Texas residents to hold large corporations and other entities accountable through litigation. Whether the claim at issue involves defective medical devices, dangerous prescription drugs or even commercial litigation, we work hard to get the right results for our clients.

Some ailments, such as the common cold, are minor. They may cause some discomfort for a few days but can be taken care of at home and go away on their own. Other ailments, however, are much more serious. Some serious illnesses, such as cancer, require immediate medical care. However, if a disease goes undiagnosed or is improperly treated, it could make a bad situation worse. The victim will continue to suffer not just from the disease that is going untreated, but also possibly from the wrong treatment being administered.

In situations like this, a person in Texas may incur many expenses, including medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering. These expenses are made all the harder to bear knowing that they could have been avoided had proper measure taken place. In some cases, it may be possible to pursue plaintiff litigation in the form of a medical malpractice claim against the negligent physician or medical center. However, certain elements must exist for a viable medical malpractice claim to proceed.

When it comes to medical devices, patients in Houston may feel secure if they learn that the device is cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, this security can be misleading. This is because there is a significant difference between a product being FDA cleared and FDA approved.

The FDA regulates prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, biologics, medical devices and surgical implants, among other products. If a product is FDA approved, this means that the FDA has determined that the benefits of the product are greater than any known risks that may accompany the use of the product in the way it was intended. For FDA approval, the manufacturer of the product must provide the agency with a premarket approval application as well as the results of the clinical tests of the product. FDA approval is generally required to sell products in the nation that have a significant benefit but also present the potential for significant risks. Class III medical devices, such as pacemakers, breast implants and replacement heart valves must be FDA approved.

While dangerous medical devices are receiving more attention in the news these days, it can still be difficult for patients in Texas and across the United States to determine whether a medical device they are considering putting in their body is dangerous or has a history of being defective. Americans should be able to depend on the agencies governing medical devices to inform them when a device causes harm. Unfortunately, until recently this has not been the case.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated that it will end a program that had allowed manufacturers of medical devices to keep reports of harm concealed from U.S. citizens. The program, known as "alternative summary reporting" is two decades old but has collected and kept secret thousands of reports of harm caused by medical devices. The FDA plans to open these records to the public within a matter of weeks.