What Compensation Can I Get for a Failed Medical Device?

You can recover compensation for past and future medical expenses, lost wages and earning capacity, pain and suffering, revision surgeries, permanent disability, and loss of enjoyment of life after a failed medical device. New York doesn’t cap damages in product liability cases, so settlements and verdicts range from tens of thousands for minor complications to millions for catastrophic injuries that require multiple surgeries or cause permanent harm.

Contact us for a free consultation. We’ll review your medical records, calculate your total damages, and fight for every dollar you deserve. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.

The exact amount depends on your injury severity, how many revision surgeries you need, whether complications are permanent, your age, and how the device failure affected your ability to work and enjoy life. Cases involving metallosis, organ damage, chronic infections, or permanent disability typically result in higher compensation than those where complications resolved with one revision surgery.

What Medical Expenses Can I Recover After a Medical Device Fails?

You can recover all past medical costs including emergency room visits, hospitalizations, revision surgeries to remove the failed device, diagnostic imaging like X-rays and MRIs, medications, physical therapy, and follow-up doctor appointments. Keep every medical bill, prescription receipt, and explanation of benefits from insurance.

Future medical expenses are also recoverable, including projected costs for additional revision surgeries, long-term pain management, ongoing medications, rehabilitation, home healthcare, and any medical monitoring you’ll need for life. We work with life care planners who calculate these future costs based on medical testimony about what treatment you’ll require going forward.

Don’t assume insurance coverage reduces what you can recover. New York’s collateral source rule prevents defendants from arguing your damages are lower because insurance paid some bills. You’re entitled to full compensation regardless of what insurance covered.

Can I Recover Lost Wages From a Failed Medical Device?

Yes, you can recover all income you lost while recovering from device complications including salary, overtime pay, bonuses, commissions, tips, and self-employment earnings you couldn’t earn. This covers time off for revision surgeries, doctor appointments, physical therapy, and recovery periods when you couldn’t work.

Bring pay stubs, tax returns, W-2 forms, and letters from employers documenting missed work to prove lost wages. Self-employed individuals need profit and loss statements, client invoices, and tax returns showing income before and after device failure.

If you used sick days, vacation time, or personal days for medical treatment, you can recover the value of that lost time. Even if your employer paid you during recovery, you’re entitled to compensation for depleting your leave banks.

What Is Lost Earning Capacity Worth for Permanent Device Injuries?

Lost earning capacity compensates you when device complications prevent you from returning to your previous career or limit how much you can work going forward. This applies when you can’t perform the same job, must accept lower-paying work, can’t work full-time anymore, or retire early due to disability.

We hire vocational rehabilitation experts and economists who calculate the difference between what you would have earned over your career versus what you can now earn with your limitations. A 45-year-old earning $80,000 annually who can only work part-time at $30,000 after device failure might recover over $1 million in lost earning capacity.

Your age significantly affects this calculation. Younger patients with more working years ahead recover higher amounts than older patients near retirement. A failed device at age 35 versus age 65 creates vastly different lost earning capacity values.

How Much Can I Get for Pain and Suffering From a Failed Device?

Pain and suffering damages compensate you for physical pain, emotional distress, mental anguish, and reduced quality of life caused by device failure. New York doesn’t cap these damages, so juries award whatever they believe fairly compensates your suffering.

The amount depends on injury severity, duration of pain, number of surgeries endured, permanence of complications, and impact on daily activities. Chronic severe pain requiring multiple surgeries over years commands higher awards than temporary discomfort that resolved quickly.

NYC juries have awarded hundreds of thousands to millions in pain and suffering for serious device failures. A hip replacement causing metallosis requiring multiple revisions might result in $1-3 million in pain and suffering, while hernia mesh requiring one removal surgery might warrant $150,000-$500,000.

What Compensation Exists for Permanent Disability From Device Failure?

Permanent disability damages compensate you when device complications cause lasting impairments affecting your independence, mobility, or ability to perform daily activities. This includes paralysis, amputations, chronic pain preventing normal function, or organ damage requiring ongoing medical management.

Courts consider how disability affects your life specifically—not just medical labels but actual limitations. Can you still care for yourself, play with your children, maintain your home, or participate in hobbies you enjoyed? The more activities device failure prevents, the higher your disability compensation.

Disfigurement and scarring from multiple revision surgeries, especially visible scars affecting appearance and self-esteem, warrant additional compensation beyond other damages. Road rash-like scarring from mesh erosion or large surgical scars from repeated hip revisions add to case value.

Can I Recover Compensation for Loss of Enjoyment of Life?

Yes, you can recover damages when device failure prevents you from enjoying activities, hobbies, sports, travel, and experiences that made life meaningful before your injury. This is separate from pain and suffering and addresses what you’ve lost rather than what you endure.

Examples include no longer being able to play golf, run marathons, travel internationally, garden, dance, have comfortable sexual relations, or participate in activities with grandchildren. We document these losses through your testimony, family statements, photos and videos showing your active life before device failure, and evidence of abandoned hobbies.

The younger you are and the more active your lifestyle before device failure, the higher these damages typically are. A 50-year-old marathon runner who can no longer run due to failed knee replacement loses decades of an activity central to their identity.

What Damages Can My Spouse Recover for Loss of Consortium?

Your spouse can pursue separate loss of consortium claims for lost companionship, affection, intimacy, household services, and support resulting from your device injuries. This compensates them for how your complications changed your relationship and their life.

Loss of consortium includes inability to engage in sexual relations due to pain, loss of your help with household tasks and childcare, emotional distance caused by depression or chronic pain, and reduced ability to participate in activities you enjoyed together as a couple.

These claims are valued separately from your damages. While you might recover $2 million for your injuries, your spouse might receive an additional $200,000-$500,000 for their own losses depending on how severely device failure impacted your relationship.

Can I Get Punitive Damages for a Defective Medical Device?

Punitive damages are possible when manufacturers engaged in particularly reckless conduct like knowingly selling dangerous devices, concealing known risks from doctors and patients, or prioritizing profits over safety through fraud or intentional misconduct.

These damages punish wrongdoing and deter similar conduct rather than compensating you for losses. Courts award punitive damages only in egregious cases where evidence shows manufacturers knew devices were dangerous but sold them anyway.

Discovery in device litigation sometimes reveals internal documents showing manufacturers knew about high failure rates, dismissed safety concerns, or marketed devices for unapproved uses without adequate testing. This evidence can support punitive damage claims that significantly increase total compensation.

How Does My Age Affect Failed Medical Device Compensation?

Your age dramatically impacts case value because it affects both economic and non-economic damages. Younger patients have more working years ahead, meaning lost earning capacity calculations cover longer periods and result in higher amounts.

Younger patients must also live with permanent complications for more decades, justifying higher pain and suffering awards. A 40-year-old living with chronic pain for 40+ years deserves more compensation than a 75-year-old experiencing identical pain for their remaining years.

However, age can cut both ways. Defense attorneys argue older patients had limited prognosis due to age and other health conditions, making it harder to prove device failure significantly worsened outcomes. A failed hip in a healthy 45-year-old versus an 80-year-old with multiple health problems creates different damage calculations.

What Determines How Much Manufacturers Offer to Settle Device Cases?

Settlement amounts depend on injury severity, number of revision surgeries needed, permanence of complications, strength of evidence proving the device was defective, how many other patients were harmed creating MDL pressure, and your age affecting future damages.

Manufacturers also consider bellwether trial results if your device is in multidistrict litigation. If early test cases resulted in large jury verdicts, manufacturers face pressure to settle remaining cases for reasonable amounts to avoid additional trials.

Your specific complications matter more than generic device problems. Two patients in the same MDL with identical devices might settle for vastly different amounts—one with minimal complications might get $75,000 while another requiring multiple surgeries and permanent disability might receive $3 million.

How Does Multidistrict Litigation Affect My Compensation Amount?

Being part of an MDL doesn’t mean you get the same settlement as everyone else. Each plaintiff negotiates individually based on their specific injuries within settlement frameworks established for all cases.

MDLs create tiers based on injury severity. Tier 1 might be minor complications requiring one revision, Tier 2 moderate complications with ongoing issues, and Tier 3 catastrophic injuries with permanent disability. Your tier determines your settlement range, but negotiation within that range depends on your specific circumstances.

Bellwether trial outcomes help establish value ranges. If juries award $5 million in test cases with similar injuries to yours, manufacturers face pressure to offer reasonable settlements rather than risk more large verdicts.

How a Defective Medical Device Lawyer in NYC Can Help

Roth & Khalife, LLP provides legal representation for patients harmed by defective medical devices, handling every aspect of complex product liability litigation against manufacturers. Our experience with device cases helps us build stronger claims and recover maximum compensation for complications that other attorneys might undervalue.

• Investigating whether your device is defective: Our NYC defective medical device lawyers research FDA databases, recall notices, scientific literature, and ongoing litigation to determine if your complications match patterns seen in other patients with the same device.
• Identifying your specific device and batch: We obtain surgical records, implant cards, and manufacturer documentation to identify your exact device model, serial number, and lot number, determining whether it’s part of a defective batch.
• Preserving critical evidence before it disappears: We send legal preservation letters to hospitals and manufacturers requiring them to save your explanted device, surgical records, and any physical evidence before it’s discarded or destroyed.
• Connecting you with appropriate MDLs: We determine whether multidistrict litigation exists for your device and ensure you’re properly included in consolidated proceedings while protecting your individual settlement rights.
• Retaining top engineering experts: We hire product design specialists, materials engineers, and biomechanical experts who analyze your device for defects and testify about safer alternative designs manufacturers should have used.
• Working with medical experts who understand complications: We consult physicians specializing in treating device failures who document the full extent of your injuries, causation, and future medical needs.
• Calculating comprehensive damages accurately: We work with life care planners and economists who project lifetime medical costs, calculate lost earning capacity, and quantify every element of damages including pain and suffering.
• Proving the device caused your injuries: We establish causation by showing your complications match known device problems, occurred after implantation, and wouldn’t have happened with a properly designed device.
• Countering manufacturer defenses effectively: We anticipate and defeat common defenses like blaming your surgeon, arguing complications were your fault, or claiming pre-existing conditions caused your problems.
• Handling complex federal MDL procedures: We navigate consolidated litigation involving thousands of plaintiffs, coordinate with leadership counsel, and ensure your individual case receives appropriate attention despite being part of larger proceedings.
• Negotiating maximum individual settlements: We evaluate settlement offers against your specific injuries and circumstances, rejecting inadequate offers and negotiating amounts that truly compensate your losses.
• Preparing strong bellwether trial cases: When selected for early test trials that establish value for all MDL cases, we prepare compelling evidence that motivates manufacturers to offer reasonable global settlements.
• Protecting you from coercive settlement tactics: We prevent manufacturers from pressuring you to accept lowball offers by explaining your case’s true value and what you risk by settling too early.
• Coordinating with your treating physicians: We work directly with your doctors to ensure proper documentation of complications, obtain necessary medical opinions, and secure testimony supporting your claims when needed.
• Managing all litigation deadlines and requirements: We handle filing deadlines, discovery responses, expert disclosures, and procedural requirements so you can focus on medical treatment and recovery.

Medical device litigation is highly technical, requiring attorneys who understand both product liability law and the medical issues surrounding device failures. Generic personal injury lawyers who primarily handle car accidents often lack the specialized knowledge, expert networks, and MDL experience needed to maximize device case values. We’ve built our practice around representing device injury victims and have the resources to take on major manufacturers with teams of defense lawyers.

Get Maximum Compensation for Your Failed Device

Device failures cause serious injuries requiring expensive treatment and creating lasting complications. Manufacturers who sold defective products must compensate you fully for all harm caused. Roth & Khalife, LLP fights for maximum recovery in defective medical device cases throughout NYC.

Contact us for a free consultation. We’ll review your medical records, calculate your total damages, and fight for every dollar you deserve. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.