Shoulder pain pumps have been linked to a serious condition known as PAGCL, or Postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis, and hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against pain pump manufacturers. So many lawsuits have been filed that a petition for an MDL (multi-district litigation) was filed. Although the MDL was denied, find out why pain pump attorneys say that the denial may actually be a good thing for plaintiffs.

Alabama Attorney Frank Woodson

Frank Woodson, an Alabama attorney whose firm represents patients injured by shoulder pain pumps, explained the circumstances that led to the MDL and told us why the denial may be a good thing for those who have been injured by these devices:

A petition was filed for an MDL in 2008 and that came up for a hearing before the judicial panel in the summer of 2008. Of course, I’ll just be speculating on the reasons for denial, but several of the manufacturers came forward at that time and they objected to the MDL. They did not think that there were enough cases filed at that time and I think they felt that an MDL wasn’t the way to go because there are four to five different manufacturers involved. So the judicial panel denied the petition.

Now, that may be a good thing for patients and consumers because there are already cases that are going to trial. There was a case last year that was set for trial against I-Flow out in Portland, Oregon and that case was resolved on a confidential basis in state court.

As recently as last month in Portland, there were six other plaintiffs who went to trial, two of those plaintiffs settled right before or after the opening statement. Then, after about five days of trial, the other four plaintiffs were able to resolve their cases with Stryker on a confidential basis.

Doctors also suing manufacturers

Woodson told us that patients aren’t the only ones suing pain pump manufacturers – doctors who performed the surgeries are too. “The interesting thing is that one of those lawsuits continued because the treating physician, for those individuals who actually placed the pain pump, has also filed a claim against the manufacturer for telling him to place the catheter into the joint space that caused damage to his patients. The jury was deadlocked 8 - 4 in favor of the doctor.”

Pain pump lawsuits are substantial injury cases

Woodson strongly believes that these are substantial injury cases. “This is a very severe injury that should not have occurred. The fact is that, used properly, the risk of these devices causing any injury are minimal. However, manufacturers started telling doctors to use these in a manner for which they were not approved [by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration]. They did so and now it’s causing these very bad injuries to people.”