Charles A. Hornewer and Terrence M. Quinn
Following a heart attack, our client underwent a medical procedure to re-establish blood flow through a blocked heart artery. The physicians performing this procedure used a small device to re-open the artery. The device either broke or came apart during the procedure causing uncontrolled bleeding, which led to bilateral leg amputations before her death a few weeks later. One question motivated our efforts to obtain justice for the family: Why would the manufacturer run the risk of unintentional detachment associated with virtually any two-piece device? In answer to this question, we learned that this was another tragic example of a corporation’s placing “profits over people.” Despite industry standards requiring a one piece design, the manufacturer continued to produce the more dangerous, two-piece design because a small minority of physicians preferred that design, and thus they could sell a few more products.