Beware Big Business Spin: A Defense of “Ambulance Chasers”

Let me see if I have this straight: There is a huge medical device manufacturer that earns over $75 billion dollars each year. This corporation decides to market and sell a new medical device. The corporation refuses to do extensive testing on the device because that would take too long and cost too much money. In fact, preliminary studies showed problems with the device, and the company believes extensive clinical testing may reveal more problems, further slowing its path to the market (and to big profits). Instead, the company seeks fast-track approval of the device. The company argues that because the device looks similar to a device already on the market, it should be allowed to sell the new device without extensive testing. This process is known as the 510(k) pathway, and I’ve written about it a ton on this site, including last week. In the application the company reassures the FDA: “and don’t worry, we will keep an eye on the device and the patients who receive the device and if problems arise down the road we will let you know.”

So the FDA gives the multi-billion dollar corporation 510(k) approval to sell the device. In the first year the company sells one billion dollars’ worth of the device. In the second year it sells $1.5 billion in new devices, but it also begins to receive an alarming number of “adverse event” reports. This means patients are reporting problems and injuries after receiving the device. The company undertakes an internal study but does not report its findings to the FDA. In the third year it sells even more devices, but by now hundreds of adverse reports are rolling in. The injuries finally get the attention of the FDA, and the company reluctantly hands over its data on the many serious injuries caused by the new device.

In the fourth year a woman with the implanted device is forced to undergo “revision surgery” to remove the device, and her recovery is lengthy and painful. She calls me and tells me her story. It is awful. She was once a competitive tennis player, but now she walks with a cane. She hasn’t played tennis in two years. She had to take time away from her job. Even with decent health insurance she has thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket medical bills related to the failure of the device.

I take her case. I file a lawsuit in the new “multidistrict litigation” organized to handle the hundreds of cases involving injuries from this new medical device. I move the case along, handle the discovery and make sure my client’s case complies with all Case Management Orders from the MDL judge. Eventually we secure a good settlement for my client.

Later, at a press conference, a spokesperson for the corporation breezily refers to lawyers as ambulance chasers.

So after that narrative of events, I am the ambulance chaser?

As John McEnroe might scream, “you cannot be serious!”

I understand in this age of constant spin, the primary defense to a bad act is to attack. We see it in business; we see it in politics. We see it so often on social media it seems social media was invented for the purpose. And it is very frustrating. But that’s why it is vitally important not to let agents of spin control how you understand any subject. If a corporation can manipulate you into considering whether I am an “ambulance chaser,” it does not have to defend itself for introducing a harmful medical device into the marketplace, seriously hurting thousands of people.

Fighting spin is necessary to appreciate the excellent work so many plaintiffs’ lawyers are doing for injured people across the country.

There is no doubt there are unscrupulous lawyers out there. Some are opportunistic. A few lawyers wade into a new area of law simply because it appears profitable. Some lawyers produce ridiculous and creepy television commercials. A few may even hand out business cards at hospitals like Danny DeVito did in The Rainmaker. I understand that. And I don’t like it. It hurts all lawyers when a few lawyers do incompetent work or play fast and loose with ethics rules.

But the large majority of plaintiffs’ lawyers are doing good work for their clients. And in a world where the 510(k) fast-track approval pathway exists, it is critically important that good plaintiffs’ lawyers keep holding companies accountable for selling flawed, defective medical devices. In fact, it is one of the only defenses a patient has against unscrupulous device manufacturers.

So if an “ambulance chaser” is considered this way, then count me as a proud ambulance chaser. Because taken in this context, ambulance chasers are consumer protection heroes.