separately from any specific medical care, and the pills are tainted
and cause harm, the hospital could be on the hook.
Avoid these types of situations as much as possible. Steer clear of
acting as the retailer or middleman between the manufacturer and the
patient. It's all too common for a facility to purchase a product from a
manufacturer, raise the price and charge patients for it independently
of the overall care provision. Instead, for instances where a medical
device or medication is given to the patient as part of another service
— for example, an injection administered as part of the spine surgery
— it's best to bundle the device or medication's cost with that of the
overall service.
Finally, it's also a good idea to stay abreast of any news about device
or medication malfunctions. In this case, the patient also claimed that
the hospital, in its role of selling the medication to the patient, should
have known that there were problems with compounding centers —
especially with the New England Compounding Center — since the
FDA had issued a warning about them shortly before her surgery. This
further bolstered her product liability suit. You can easily avoid this by
closely following any device recalls or FDA warnings, and taking
appropriate action.
OSM
Dr. Stein (astein1@yu.edu) is a professor of law at Cardozo Law School in
New York City and has published in several leading journals, including the
Harvard Law Review and Columbia Law Review. He also covers developments
in medical malpractice law at steinmedicalmalpractice.com.
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