Blog Post

When Medtronic Inc. recalled the wires that were part of its ICD, a device that "shocks" the heart to control a racing heart beat, the company must have known it would face a barrage of law suits. After all, the day after the recall, a consumer rights group, Public Citizen had claimed that the number of injuries resulting from the faulty wires known as leads, had jumped dramatically in 2007, and yet Medtronic hadn't done anything to warn patients who had the device implanted or acted immediately to pull the faulty wires off the market. Medtronic itself admitted that its faulty wires were responsible for the deaths of at least five patients who had been fitted with the device. These deaths and injuries were reportedly caused by a malfunction that caused the wires to fracture resulting in either increased shock to the heart or no shock at all.

As could be expected, two class action lawsuits have been filed against Medtronic Inc., both in Kansas City courts. The lawsuits filed by a Kansas City resident and a Johnson County resident claim that the company showed negligence in its design of the wires known as SprintFidelis. According to the Kansas City Star, each lawsuit has at least six counts, including negligence and failure to warn patients of the possible malfunctioning of the wires.

Both patients received their device implantation in Kansas, one at the University of Kansas Hospital and the other at the Menorah Medical Center. The hospitals themselves haven't been named in the lawsuits.

Medtronic Inc. controls half of the global market for ICDs.

If you've been injured as a result of a defective product such as the leads in Medtronic Inc.'s ICDs, you might be entitled to compensation. Contact the California personal injury lawyers at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.