By: Edward Gerecke and David Walz

Excerpt:

"Plaintiffs have increasingly turned their attention to sales representatives in the hunt for claims that will survive preemption arguments. Depending on the circumstances, representatives may interact with physicians on highly patient- or case-specific bases. With many devices, representatives may provide technical support to a sur-geon in the operating suite. Actions by representatives offer rich, possible targets for creative plaintiffs' lawyers seeking to evade Riegel. As a result, plaintiffs' attorneys are leaving no stone, and virtually no claim, no matter how novel, unturned in their search for claims against manufacturers' representatives that will defeat Riegel's preemption holding."