Consumer Law

Just Say No?to Medical Device Hooey

By Andy Hoffman

As loyal readers of ThePopTort know well, one of our favorite things to do is debunk abject hooey?so today, we?re bringing you this little gem of a ?study,? drawn up by MIT professors who were bought and paid for by the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), the leading trade organization for the medical device industry.  (Note the disclaimer at the bottom of the page?it?s the only part of the document worth reading.)  This is an industry, you may recall, that is completely immune from liability for injuring people and they want to keep it that way. 

But it?s not just MIT professors who are being paid off by this industry. Doctors are too.  Just ask New Jersey AG Anne Milgram, who recently settled with a device-maker that provided company stock to doctors who tested and recommended the devices to patients.

?It is outrageous that doctors who are testing, and in many cases, recommending the use of certain high-risk medical devices are being compensated with stock in the very companies that make these devices,? said Milgram.

Full post as published by ThePopTort on May 08, 2009 (boomark / email).