By Ken Thomas, medical negligence specialist and Welsh Lawyer of the Year at Harding Evans.

Medical claims do not always arise from human errors by medical staff. Claims can also arise from defective drugs, medical devices and products. New medicines and healthcare products are continually appearing, very often with no track record of effectiveness.

Only a few months ago it was revealed that problems had been encountered with certain implanted lenses used in cataract surgery. A national medical device alert was issued warning that nearly 90,000 lenses already implanted could become cloudy months or years after the original surgery. Thousands of patients (many of them elderly) may need to undergo further surgery. Anyone affected will be recalled by their Consultant.

There have been plenty of other examples of medical products failing over the years. Many women took action after their breast implants were found to be faulty. Also, orthopaedic implants, and in particular joint implants used in hip, knee and elbow replacement surgery. Again, those patients unfortunate enough to be affected have found themselves having to go under the knife again to correct the situation. Earlier this year a Government committee expressed concern that NHS consultants were using artificial hip joints of unproven quality. This must be a worry given nearly 50,000 hip replacements are performed by the NHS every year.

Medicines and drugs have also long been the subject of litigation. One particularly notorious drug was of course Thalidomide. Much more recently, the MMR debate continues to rage and did at one point seem likely to lead to costly litigation. The anti-depressant Seroxat has also been the subject of heated debate which may end up in the Courts.

Given that the people of South East Wales have long been known to enjoy comparatively poor health, they are arguably more likely to fall foul of defective products and medicines than patients in other areas of England and Wales.

This is an evolving area of the law. Consumer protection laws have been used effectively by Claimants to the point where contaminated blood, organs and bodily fluids are viewed as products.

Wonderful advances in medicine continue to be made year on year but inevitably some flaws come to light too late for some unlucky patients. The authorities, and the law, must ensure that drugs and equipment meet acceptable standards of safety and performance.

Where product liability claims do arise, they often become multi-party or group actions and Legal Aid may be available to those who are financially eligible.