Medical Product Liability Hot Spots

Originally Published MX March/April 2003

GOVERNMENTAL & LEGAL AFFAIRS

Several areas of personal-injury litigation may foreshadow future trouble for unwary medical product manufacturers.

Kevin M. Quinley

The early months of each new year bring lists heralding what's in and what's out. Spinning is out, but hot yoga is in. Hemlines may be high or may be coming down. Some restaurants are trendy while others are passé.

There are even hot spots and trends in the area of medical product liability, more significant for medical device company executives than fashions in dining. Being able to discern the patterns as they start to materialize allows medtech leaders to avoid the tort liability minefields. Savvy corporate managers can anticipate legal dangers latent in certain mergers and acquisitions and in new-product development, and can devise risk management strategies with full awareness of potential corporate liabilities.