Product Liability of Shoulder Pain Pump
Following arthroscopic shoulder surgery, patients typically require a regime of medication to manage their pain. Oral medications like codeine, morphine, and ibuprofen often prove insufficient for this purpose. Consequently, physicians have turned to disposable pain pumps to better manage pain after surgery. These pain pumps are inserted directly into the shoulder by way of a catheter, which delivers small doses of bupivacaine and epinephrine. No one ever thought this would lead to serious personal injury.
Unfortunately, these pain pumps have been shown to cause a painful and debilitating condition that involves the loss of cartilage in the shoulder after surgery. This condition is called Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis (PAGCL). As recent as 2008, the authors of a study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that epinephrine is chondrotoxic (toxic to cartilage) and “cannot be advocated for pain pump use.”
Further, in a 2008 article published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, the researchers found a strong link between prolonged exposure to bupivacaine and cartilage death. Similar studies have reached the same conclusions.
Symptoms associated with PAGCL include pain, stiffness, weakness, clicking or grinding, and limited range of motion.
Federal product liability lawsuits across the nation have been filed against the manufacturers of these pumps, and they tell a similar tale. Manufacturers of the pump wrongly advised physicians to insert the pain pumps directly into the shoulder after surgery. Such practice was not approved by the FDA.
Healthy persons between the ages of 20 and 40 subsequently underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery and, after surgery, had a pain pump inserted into the shoulder. Subsequently, the patient experienced bone-on-bone friction between the joints. And what follows, as one doctor put it, is a “lifetime of pain.”
If you or a loved one has suffered symptoms mentioned above relating to a pain pump from surgery, the manufacturers of the pump may be liable for the financial and physical damages endured. Having your life chance for the worse due to the negligence of another person is something no one should have to go through alone, and you don't have to. The skilled Tennessee personal injury lawyers at Baker Associates are available to help you with your case and inform you of your rights. Call 866-853-2888 for a free consultation.
