Legal Options After a Defective Insulin Pump Causes Injury or Death

 Posted on September 29, 2021 in Personal Injury

Roughly 350,000 Americans rely on an insulin pump to provide life-sustaining care. When an insulin pump fails, the results can be catastrophic. Patients who rely on an insulin pump may become gravely ill or even die if the pump fails to deliver the right amount of insulin at the right time. Patients may also suffer harm if they were given an insulin pump, but were not adequately instructed on how to use it safely. If you or a loved one was harmed by a defective insulin pump, contact an attorney to find out what type of compensation you may be entitled to. 

When is a Manufacturer Liable for Injuries or Deaths Caused by an Insulin Pump? 

Diabetic patients who use insulin pumps trust their lives and health to these devices. In Illinois, medical manufacturers are held to the standard of “strict liability.” This means that a patient, or the family of a patient harmed by a defective medical device does not need to prove that the manufacturer was careless in making the device. Instead, one only needs to show that the medical device was unreasonably dangerous. 

What Are the Two Ways An Insulin Pump Can Be “Unreasonably Dangerous?”

The first way is if the device itself malfunctions. A defective insulin pump may deliver too much or too little insulin, or it may stop working entirely. An important component may be too easily damaged and cause the pump to stop working. 

The other way for an attorney to show that an insulin pump was unreasonably dangerous is if the pump did not come with adequate instructions for safe use. No matter how well the device works, it can become extremely dangerous if a patient was not informed about how to use it correctly. 

Contact a Cook County Defective Medical Devices Lawyer

If you or a loved one suffered serious injury or death due to a defective insulin pump, call Schwartz Injury Law at 708-226-9000 to schedule a free consultation. You may be entitled to receive compensation. Our Orland Park Defective Medical Device Attorneys are experienced in seeking compensation for the victims of insulin pump and other medical device defects. We will thoroughly investigate the causes of you or your loved one’s injury or death and provide compassionate legal advocacy for you at every stage in your case. 

Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4730130/#:~:text=Statistics%20show%20that%20an%20estimated,use%20automatic%20bolus%20insulin%20calculators.

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=073500050K2-621