( From abortion to consumer rights the c...)US Supreme Court Could Protect Medical Equipment Manufacturers from Law Suits,Health

From abortion to consumer rights, the conservatives-dominated US Supreme Court seems set to leave its mark, whatever could be the ultimate fate of President George W. Bush.

It said on Monday that that it would hear an appeal raising the issue of whether the medical equipment manufacturers approved by the federal government may be sued under state law by patients injured by those devices.

At the end of the case, the federal government could win a ruling by which it could simply prohibit states from imposing more stringent consumer regulations than what it lays down.

True to his undisguised bias for the industry, Bush has been tacitly encouraging various federal agencies to adopt regulations that would preclude active state prosecutors and trial lawyers from bringing lawsuits that could result in higher safety standards for a variety of products and processes.

Agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, have proposed or adopted rules that would make it more difficult for consumers to bring lawsuits under state laws that are more favorable to victims than are federal regulations.

Critics of the Bush administration say that the approach strips consumers of valuable state protections. Supporters say the federal effort to pre-empt the states sets uniform national standards and discourages overzealous state prosecutors.

In the case before the Supreme Court, both the Bush administration and the defendant company, Medtronic, had urged the justices to reject the appeal of a patient who was injured when a balloon catheter it made ruptured during an angioplasty in 1996.

The patient, Charles R. Riegel, and his wife, Donna, sued Medtronic for a variety of state tort law violations, including negligent design and breach of warranty.

The company maintained that Mr. Riegels surgeon should
'"/>




Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. Supreme Court Quashed Reservation Quotas For PG Medical Courses
2. Supreme Court Verdict Gives Hope to Striking Medicos
3. Supreme Court Warns Medicos of Contempt Action
4. Supreme Court Verdict Gives Hope to Striking Medicos
5. Supreme Court Orders Striking Medicos To Call Off Agitation Immediate
6. Supreme Court Ruling On Health Care Not Respected. Alleged Physician
7. Doctors to Get Pay for Limited Strike Period : Supreme Court
8. Supreme Courts Order is a Vindication of Our Stand: AIIMS Medicos
9. Supreme Court Notice to Centre, MCI on Doctors Strike
10. Supreme Court Seeks Replies From Cola Firms
11. Mexico Supreme Court Accepts Petition To Review Mexico City Law Legalizing Abortion During First Three Months Gestation