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How Families Are Hurt
Greedy corporations find federal preemption attractive, for obvious reasons. But corporate immunity can deal a fatal blow to victims and their families.
The real-world consequences of federal preemption have a familiar ring: The wealthy corporations get richer, and innocent victims get the shaft. State consumer laws are being challenged on a number of issues, including environmental protection, railroad transport of hazardous materials, auto makers' liability for rollovers, and credit safeguards.
The impact of this insidious movement is especially destructive to victims of harmful medical devices. Here are some stories about families whose lives have been devastated by the federal preemption/corporate immunity campaign and, most recently, by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Riegel v. Medtronic.
- In Minnesota, 1,496 heart patients harmed by their malfunctioning Medtronic defibrillators with faulty Sprint Fidelis leads saw their cases dismissed by a U.S. District Court. They find themselves with no rights to seek justice, even though many of them suffered potentially lethal shocks from the leads in the three years it took Medtronic to recall the leads.
- In Kansas in 2007, Donald Hickey's surgically-implanted Medtronic defibrillator delivered 16 electric shocks in one day alone. After emergency surgery to implant a new device, Mr. Hickey remains so anxious about another malfunction that he must take anti-anxiety medication.
In Maine, Madeline Wallace received such a wallop from her malfunctioning Medtronic defibrillator that she was knocked off her feet in the grocery store - and was shocked three times more while awaiting surgery to remove the faulty Sprint Fidelis leads. Tragically, the defective leads could not be removed safely. Now, after incurring $70,000 in medical bills, Ms. Wallace feels like a walking time bomb, with two bad leads remaining in her heart.- In Pennsylvania, Bridget Robb endured 13 minutes of shocks from defective Sprint Fidelis leads - 31 shocks, to be precise - in front of her young daughter. She was subjected to several subsequent surgeries to replace the leads, and suffered multiple infections. It's no wonder that her health has declined significantly, and she experiences frequent acute anxiety.
- In Arkansas, welder Gary Despain suffered severe ringing in his ear as a result of interference between electronic welding equipment and an apparently defective hearing aid implanted in his right ear. He had the hearing aid removed surgically, but was left disabled and unemployed. After the U.S. Supreme Court's Riegel decision, Despain's claims against manufacturer Soundtec were dismissed by the Arkansas Supreme Court. The bottom line: Soundtec gets complete immunity, Despain gets nothing.
- In Texas, 50-year-old former forklift operator Calvin Timberlake had an artificial metal and plastic disc, Prodisc, implanted in his spine to relieve chronic lower back pain. The Prodisc disintegrated, requiring emergency surgery to remove it. Timberlake's pain is now excruciating, and he requires constant medication. As it turns out, FDA approval of Prodisc relied in part upon medical journal articles by surgeons with major investments in Prodisc. Timberlake's claims are still pending.
There are many more stories of injuries and death caused by defective medical devices. Sadly, their stories no longer shock us. What is shocking, however, is the unprecedented attempt of unscrupulous corporations to declare themselves absolved of all responsibility for killing and maiming men, women and children.
We cannot let them get away with it!
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