Products liability cases involving medical devices or products generally may be more difficult for consumers to prevail, for a variety of reasons. First, consumers have only certain timeframes in which to bring lawsuits for injuries stemming from defective products, under most state laws. In the case of medical devices or products, long periods of time may pass before a consumer discovers the full extent of his or her injuries from a medical device or product, or that an injury even exists due to the product. As a result, compensation from injuries may not be available under some states' laws if sufficient time has elapsed between the use of the medical device and the discovery of the injury. Furthermore, a recent U.S. Supreme Court case has made it more difficult to maintain a lawsuit against the manufacturer of a medical device or product that has caused injury to a consumer. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the Medical Device Amendments of 1976 prohibits most lawsuits under state law against manufacturers of medical devices who have complied with all U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards and regulations in the manufacturing, distributing, and marketing of medical devices.