Jackson, Emily 
ORCID: 0000-0002-2052-2776
(2024)
Product liability, medical devices and harm to women’s bodies.
In: Horsey, Kirsty, (ed.)
Diverse Voices in Tort Law.
Bristol University Press, Bristol, UK, 129 - 150.
ISBN 9781529231601
Abstract
This chapter considers the gendered implications of product liability claims for injuries caused by dangerous medical devices. In recent years, women have been injured in a series of scandals involving medical devices, including Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) breast implants, the Essure permanent contraceptive device and transvaginal mesh. Further, devices that are implanted into both male and female bodies, such as joint replacements and cardiac devices, fail more frequently in women than they do in men. If women are more likely to be injured by implantable devices, they are also more likely to seek compensation for those injuries, and hence to be disproportionately affected by any defects in the product liability regime. If an effective product liability regime gives manufacturers an incentive to ensure that their products are safe, an ineffective product liability regime may do the opposite, making it more likely that dangerous devices will continue to be implanted into women’s bodies. This is exacerbated by the fact that many women who are injured by medical devices find that their symptoms are dismissed or downplayed as ‘normal’ and ‘attributable to women’s problems’.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | https://doi.org/10.51952/9781529231632 |
| Additional Information: | © 2024 Bristol University Press |
| Divisions: | Law |
| Subjects: | K Law > K Law (General) |
| Date Deposited: | 24 May 2024 16:42 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Dec 2024 18:13 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/123652 |
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