By the time a patient decides to get a knee replaced with a medical device, they have been dealing with chronic pain for a long time. They have weighed the risks of surgery and decided that the knee replacement will most likely help them feel better — or, at least, it won’t make them feel worse.
That’s what they may have been thinking, anyway. Unfortunately, some patients end up with a worsened condition because of a defective medical device. A lawsuit recently filed in Texas helps illustrate this point.
Texas woman’s lawsuit
According to the lawsuit, a Texas woman had her knee replaced in 2017 with an Optetrak Logic Total Knee Replacement System, manufactured by the company Exactech. She claims that the device failed and caused a severe infection. Ultimately, her doctor decided to replace the device with another one from the same manufacturer.
Unfortunately, there have been many reports of Exactech’s knee replacement devices failing. Earlier this year, the company issued a recall of 140,000 parts associated with its knee replacement devices. In her lawsuit, the woman says she fears that her new device will fail, just as the first did. This could lead to severe pain and infection and could require yet another surgery.
According to the woman’s lawsuit, Exactech has acknowledged that improper packaging of certain parts in its devices led them to deteriorate more quickly than the company had anticipated. The woman seeks compensation for medical expenses, attorney’s fees and more.
In fact, thousands of people have filed similar lawsuits involving Exactech’s knee replacement devices.
Worsened condition
It isn’t always easy to calculate the damages suffered by a patient in a defective product lawsuit. However, if the patient can show they required additional surgery because of the defect, they may be able to convince the court that they deserve compensation for the costs of this second operation, at the least.
Attorneys with experience in defective medical device litigation can help the injured and their families to understand how to calculate their damages and demand justice.
