Pain Pumps

A pain pump is a small, portable medical device used to inject continuous dosages of pain relief medication via a catheter to an area in the body, often where surgery was performed for up to 3 days after surgical procedures.

Pain pumps are frequently used for better surgical pain relief, elimination or reduction of narcotics, and reduced hospital stay. The pain pump is designed to deliver medication directly to the surgical wound site or in close proximity to the nerves associated with the surgical area for post-operative pain management. The pain pump infuses the medication at an hourly flow rate or combination of an hourly flow rate and controlled bolus doses.

Pain pumps can cause Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis an irreversible, permanent, degenerative, disabling and extremely painful condition causing the complete or nearly complete loss of cartilage in the shoulder joint. It is a debilitating and life altering shoulder injury. Without cartilage, there is no bone-to-bone cushion, causing bones to grind together and resulting in intense pain and, in some cases, chronic arthritis. Symptoms include shoulder pain, stiffness, popping or grinding when the shoulder is in motion; decrease in range of motion; and a loss of strength in the joint. It can show up months after the surgery is performed. In addition to living with acute pain and daily medication, it may result in a need for follow-up surgery.

The damage that occurs requires the more painful and invasive shoulder joint replacement surgery which involves replacing the joint with plastic and metal components. Surgery lasts two and three hours and patients usually remain in the hospital for three nights. Physical therapy is almost always required following this type of procedure. Despite surgery, many patients never fully regain use of their joint and some patients report increased pain.

If you need to file a defective product lawsuit, Anapol Schwartz is a West VA law firm on your side. Anapol Schwartz has a Wheeling attorney (Barry Hill) who can compassionately handle your defective productss lawsuit.

Medical products are by nature thought to be safe and effective for their intended use. It is assumed that all necessary testing has been done by the medical company before the product is released for sale to public. Medical products, especially those sold by prescription have to pass a rigorous pre-market approval process by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). Once it passes through the approval process, the public assumes that the medical product can be safely used for the purpose for which it is intended. If the medical product has defects or is contaminated or does not contain warnings about possible adverse effect, it amounts to negligence on the part of the manufacturer.

If you are or one of your loved ones is suffering from the negative side effects of pain pumps, you may be entitled to compensation.