Supreme Court Hurts Consumer Protection In Medtronic Ruling

The Supreme Court seriously erred in their 8-1 ruling in favor of Medtronic inc. The Justices ruled that Congress has granted the FDA sufficiently broad regulatory authority and control over the approval of medical devices in the market place. The ruling prohibits consumers from suing the manufacturers of defective products if federal regulators (FDA) approve such devices.

This decision harms consumers, limits the protection mechanisms available to us and provides companies like Medtronics unprecedented shelter under the umbrella of the federal government. This is simply wrong minded. 

Medtronics is a 12.5 BILLION dollar company. They should be held accountable for their actions, particularly in cases of gross negligence when their products cause great harm and it can be demonstrated that they should have known. The FDA can approve product design features and standards, but they can’t necessarily guarantee that manufacturers like Medtronics follow the regulations or won’t encounter flaws that are present in after market testing.

Decisions made by the Supreme Court tip the ideological scales between liberal and conservative views on a broad range of topics. I generally find myself agreeing with the conservative base on most subjects. I am very comfortable with the current make up of the Court. However, in my opinion they got this one wrong.

What say you?