Articles Posted in Product Liability

Most Kentucky residents pursue product liability lawsuits because they have been injured by a defective consumer product, but this kind of litigation may also be initiated after workers have suffered injuries caused by heavy equipment or machinery installed at their workplaces or unsafe power tools provided by their employers. However, these cases can be complex and difficult to litigate, and you may wish to choose an attorney with several decades of experience in this area if you are thinking of taking this path.

If you have been injured at work by tools, machinery or equipment despite following instructions and observing safety protocols, identifying the parties responsible may not necessarily be easy. Manufacturers could face product liability lawsuits when their equipment is found to have been defective, but even well-made and safe machinery can cause injuries when it has not been installed correctly or properly maintained. This means that vendors and employers may also be named as defendants in these cases.

Before filing this type of lawsuit, attorneys with experience in this area may conduct thorough investigations into an accident to determine which companies or individuals were responsible and which federal or state safety regulations were violated. If you are considering pursuing a workplace-related product liability lawsuit, you may be able to help your attorneys by gathering as much information as you can about the tool or machine involved and the individuals who trained you how to use it.

Heater-cooler devices that are used during many open-heart surgeries in Kentucky hospocould be the cause of serious infections, according to a study led by a Swiss doctor. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that HCDs are used in about 250,000 surgeries each year in the United States. A global outbreak of Mycobacterium chimaera has been linked to water circuits in the devices.

The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, contains evidence that HCDs are the source of M. chimaera infections. After a significant increase in the infections, investigators began looking at hospital water sources and found bacteria in the HCDs. The most common type of HCD that was linked to the infection is the LivaNova 3T. M. chimaera bacteria was also found in air samples that were taken during surgeries involving LivaNova HCDs.

Researchers included safety recommendations in their report in an effort to prevent more patients from coming down with M. chimaera infections during open-heart surgery. Hospitals were advised to keep contaminated HCDs separate from spaces where critical medical procedures are being performed. The researchers also recommended infection education for doctors and infection screening for patients that have recently had surgery.