If you’ve had a surgery using an Ethicon stapler and experienced a leaking staple, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit against the company. The stapler has been linked to many injuries, including several deaths. Several lawsuits filed by patients seeking compensation for these injuries claim that the company sold defective staplers.
Leaking Staplers and Defective Staplers
One lawsuit involved a man who was awarded nearly $80 million by a jury in California after a doctor inserted a defective Ethicon surgical stapler during a routine procedure. This man suffered a series of complications after undergoing the surgery. After the surgery, he developed abdominal pain and fevers. Later, he had to undergo corrective surgery to repair a leak that had occurred in his postoperative anastomosis. A malformed staple or uncut washer had ejected from the medical device, causing a blockage and subsequent sepsis.
The FDA is investigating the case and has recalled several Ethicon staplers for safety issues. Several of the affected staplers failed to properly cut washers during surgery. Additionally, the staplers failed to form a full 360-degree circle of staples. Ethicon lawsuit staples has also been sued for negligence in connection with these issues.
The recalled Echelon Flex Endopath Staplers were sold to hospitals and doctors. The company has been forced to recall more than 5,700 staplers in the U.S. since the problem began. The staplers were prone to causing malformed staples, which can be painful for patients.