A defibrillator is an electronic device designed to help people who suffer cardiac pains such as tachycardia. Tachycardia is often confused with a heart attack. It is a condition where the heart beats wildly in an uncoordinated rhythm that prevents it from pumping blood. This will provoke the loss of oxygen to the brain and eventually death. The defibrillator delivers a significant electrical shock that relieves the pain. This device is a great solution for thousands of patients who owe their lives to it; however there are certain risks.
In spite of all the benefits that the defibrillator gives to their patients the risks it carries are also quite big. There have been reports of people burn by them, units that failed to work, bad cables that prevented units from working and more.
The University of Washington reported that in a five state study there were 156 allegations of problems with the devices to the Emergency care Research Institute Problem Reporting Network. More than 495 reports of problems were made to the Medical Device Reporting System. Having knowledge of these numbers the Defibrillator Working group concluded that the frequency of the devices failures during clinical use was "unacceptably high".
In May 2005 Guidant Corporation (the manufacturer of these devices) informed the public that thousands of units that were released to the market and possibly already implanted in patients were malfunctioning or might short-circuit.
Experts in the area advice that if you have a Guidant Defibrillator device implanted you should talk to your doctor as soon as possible. If you are one of these people you are entitled to get compensation; the possibility to set a lawsuit is totally valid.