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# Bid to Kill Medical Device Preemption is Rejected
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/bid-to-kill-medical-device-preemption-is-rejected/
- Published: 2016-01-07T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T02:25:48.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Devices, #legacy-id-D5134372

> An amendment from Rep. **Mike Fitzpatrick** (R-PA) to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark [*Riegel v. Medtronic*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riegel%5Fv.%5FMedtronic,%5FInc.?ref=fdaweb.com) decision and allow patients harmed by a PMA device to seek the same redress as anyone else in the courts was rejected 1/6 after it was ruled not germane by the House Committee on Rules. The amendment ([see earlier story](https://www.fdaweb.com/fitzpatrick-house-bid-to-kill-medical-device-preemption/)) was offered to HR 1927 — Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2015.  
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> During the Rules Committee hearing, two committee members rose to support the amendment. Rep. **Louise Slaughter** (D-NY) said she supported it because power morcellator injuries “have caused a lot of grief in my district.” Rep. **Alcee Hastings** (D-FL) also supported the measure and urged the committee to vote a waiver on the germaneness provision to allow the amendment to be added to the bill. Committee chair **Pete Sessions** ruled that such an amendment would be under the jurisdiction of the Energy and Commerce Committee and not the Judiciary Committee, which is where the current bill resides.  
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> The [one-page amendment](http://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/FITZPA%5F039%5Fxml14161037153715.pdf?ref=fdaweb.com) would have added a new Section 4 titled: “Access To Justice For Victims Of Unsafe Medical Devices.” It essentially would amend Section 521 of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 360k) to state that “Nothing in this section preempts or limits a civil action, sounding in tort, arising under the common law of the state.”