Medtronic recently issued a recall of various insulin pump models due to a faulty design that allows users to accidentally deliver the maximum amount of insulin by inadvertently pressing a button. This recall concerns an enormous amount of devices: nearly 560,000 insulin pumps have been recalled. A total of 444,374 of these devices are in use in the United States.
If you are suffering from diabetes, or if you have a loved one who has diabetes, you could be relying on one of these dangerously designed insulin pumps. So if you have heard about the recall, what are your next steps?
Medtronic already sent a letter detailing actions that can be taken to reduce the risk of an over delivery of insulin, namely changing the safety settings on your insulin pump and confirming the flashing insulin dose on the display before starting delivery. But, simply being extremely cautious is not enough to fully negate the risk of an inherently dangerous product. By contacting the 24-hour helpline listed on the FDA website, you can get instructions for obtaining a replacement insulin pump.
If you or someone you love has already been harmed by a poorly designed Medtronic insulin pump, the solution might not be quite so simple. For someone suffering from diabetes, an over delivery of insulin can be a very serious issue that results in severe health consequences. In some cases, it can even be fatal.
The responsibility for harm caused by a medical device that is inherently dangerous lies with the manufacturer, not with users. Users of insulin pumps cannot be expected to guard against a constant threat posed by devices that were designed poorly in the first place. If you or a family member was harmed by one of these faulty insulin pumps, you might have legal remedies. An experienced medical device attorney can tell you more about possible avenues to secure fair compensation from Medtronic and any others responsible for causing harm.
