A horror film that's all too real -- medical devices

Really important to read the post excerpt below and to watch the whole Netflix video (trailer above):

Watch “The Bleeding Edge” And Demand Medical Device Safety Reform
(from Max Kennerly's blog)
 
Imagine if lights, kitchen equipment, and home electronics didn’t need to be tested for electrical shock and fire hazards, and that no one ever certified that the devices were safe. Would you put them in your home?
 
 
What about a car that had just one crash test, at low speed, and Congress had passed a special law making it impossible for anyone to sue the car company, so the company couldn’t be held responsible for people’s injuries? Would you put your family in one?
 
 
Yet, those examples above describe the state of the $156 billion American medical device market. Most medical devices aren’t tested with clinical trials. The medical devices which are tested can pass with a minimal showing, and Congress passed a special law that says that this minimal showing is enough to shut the courthouse doors on victims.
 
 
The Bleeding Edge, a documentary just released on Netflix, details the many problems with medical devices today, with an emphasis on the suffering of thousands of people due to Bayer’s Essure contraceptive, DePuy’s ASR hip implant, Johnson & Johnson’s transvaginal mesh, and the Da Vinci surgical robot. I know these awful products well; most of my law practice is representing victims of medical devices and pharmaceuticals.
 
 
If no one ever watched The Bleeding Edge, the film would still be a remarkable success: soon after it premiered, Bayer announced it will discontinue sales of Essure.
 
 
But everyone should watch it. Essure was just one part of a broken regulatory system and a corrupted market, and medical device companies often lobbying Congress to make it even worse.
 
(more at link)