In February, 2008, the US Supreme Court gave the medical device makers a multi-billion dollar free ride. The Justices ruled that if the FDA gave the gold standard of 'safety' to a device such as breast implants or heart defibrillators, that alone would protect them from lawsuits. See article here.
Young mother, Bridget Robb is one of millions who may be harmed by this decision. When her Medtronic defibrillator failed nearly killed her, she was further stunned to find that her device had been 'recalled' ... but she never received a notice from Medtronic. She then learned that she had no recourse. Full story here.
This brave woman testified before the Senate on this travesty of justice, along with Thomas O. McGarity, professor of law at the University of Texas, and co-author of a recent book, "Bending Science: How Special Interests Corrupt Public Health Research."
I recall when breast implant maker Mentor had a 'recall' of over 10,000 units some years ago, and yet no woman nor plastic surgeon I asked out of dozens, had ever heard about it.
More on Bridget here.
