I urge Congress to swiftly pass the Medical Device Safety Act of 2009. In 2008, the Supreme Court overturned decades of established law when it ruled in Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc. that a person harmed by a faulty medical device cannot sue to hold the manufacturer accountable. The Court misinterpreted existing federal law, finding that Congress intended to leave patients harmed by FDA-approved medical devices no options for redress in the courts. History has shown us that allowing patients to hold manufacturers accountable through such lawsuits helps to keep medical devices safe, and the Supreme Court's misunderstanding of Congressional intent must be reversed.

Patients and physicians deserve to be fully informed about the benefits and risks of medical devices, and the companies making the devices should be held accountable if they fail to meet this standard. The Medical Device Safety Act will allow lawsuits by injured patients to go forward. The decision whether to allow patients to sue manufacturers of medical devices should be made by officials elected by the people, with whom the responsibility for the health of the public rightfully resides.

I hope the Medical Device Safety Act will have your support.