Defective Medical Device Claims in Los Angeles

What do medical device lawsuits allege?

A device claim generally alleges one of three things. These are allegations to be proved, not assumptions:

• Defective design. The device was designed in a way that made it unreasonably dangerous, even when it was made exactly as intended.
• Defective manufacture. This particular unit was made badly and departed from its intended design.
• Inadequate warnings. The risks were known and were not adequately communicated to the surgeon or the patient.

Under California’s pure comparative fault rule, partial fault on the patient’s side reduces a recovery and does not bar it. Where a company acted with malice, oppression or fraud, Civil Code section 3294 allows punitive damages.

Why do some medical device claims get blocked?

Because of federal preemption. Many implants and much medical equipment reached the market through the FDA’s 510(k) pathway, which allows a device to be sold by showing it resembles one already on the market, without new clinical studies. Devices cleared that way generally do not carry a preemption problem.

Devices approved through the FDA’s most rigorous pathway can attract the argument that state law claims are blocked by federal regulation. In those cases the road is harder. Which route a device went through is not something a patient can be expected to know, and establishing it is part of the review.

What records should you gather for a device claim?

The records that matter are specific:

• The operative report, which names the device and usually the manufacturer.
• The implant card or device sticker, if you were given one. Hospitals also keep implant logs with the brand, model and lot number.
• Revision or removal surgery records, where there was a second operation.
• Treatment notes describing what went wrong and when.
• The explanted device itself, if it still exists. Hospitals sometimes retain removed devices, and a written request asking the hospital to preserve it should go out early, because retention policies vary and nothing is kept indefinitely.

If you do not know the brand, the records request will find it. That is not a reason to decide you have no claim.

How long do you have to file a medical device claim?

The general rule is two years from injury to file a personal injury lawsuit, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Property damage has three years under section 338. Device cases are different in practice, because the injury often appears long after the implant. Under the delayed discovery rule, the two years can run from when the injury and its likely connection to the device were, or should have been, discovered, which is frequently much later than the implantation.

If a public entity such as a county hospital was involved in your care, a written claim generally has to be presented within six months under Government Code section 911.2, and that shorter deadline governs. A single date cannot be given honestly without your records, so have yours assessed early rather than assuming time is on your side.

What compensation may be sought in a device case?

• Medical expenses, past and future, including revision or removal surgery and ongoing care.
• Lost earnings and loss of future earning capacity.
• Pain, suffering and emotional distress, and the loss of enjoyment of life.
• Punitive damages under Civil Code section 3294 where the facts show malice, oppression or fraud.
• Wrongful death damages for the family under Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 when a device failure is fatal.

No outcome can be promised, and the value of a claim cannot be known before the medical picture and the device history are clear. It turns on the injury, the treatment still to come, the device involved and the evidence.

This is not a class action. Each claim stays separate, built on that person’s own device, surgery and outcome. Where a coordinated proceeding exists for a device, a filed claim joins it.

How much does a medical device lawyer cost in Los Angeles?

No fee unless there is a recovery. Broukhim Legal PC takes injury and mass tort matters on a contingency fee, so there is nothing to pay up front and the fee is paid out of what is recovered. If nothing is recovered, no fee is owed. The fee agreement is put in writing and signed before any work starts, as Business and Professions Code section 6147 requires, and the costs of running the case are explained in that same agreement rather than left to the end. Your first conversation is free, confidential and carries no obligation.

Medical device claims for clients across Los Angeles County

Broukhim Legal PC takes mass tort claims for clients throughout Los Angeles County from its office at 550 S Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles. These cases are consolidated in federal or state court rather than heard locally, so where you live does not limit the claim. See our mass tort practice for the other claims we review, and the city pages below for the local team:

See all locations we serve, or tell us about your device for a free case review.

Meet your Los Angeles medical device lawyer

Bejan Broukhim, Founder and Lead Attorney
State Bar of California, license number 183036

Bejan Broukhim brings years of California legal experience to injury and mass tort cases and personally reviews each one. He earned his J.D. at the University of West Los Angeles School of Law, served as a judicial extern in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the Van Nuys Superior Court, and appeared in preliminary hearings as a certified law clerk with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Every case is prepared from day one as though it will go to trial.

Office: 550 S Hill Street, Suite 1390, Los Angeles, CA 90013, serving all of Los Angeles County and California. Get directions