Medical Device Ruling Redraws Lines on Lawsuits
-NYTIMES.com

02/22/2008 -The Supreme Court’s decision Wednesday protecting many types of medical device makers from personal injury lawsuits began rippling through the courts and law offices almost immediately. More>>>

Lead Shocks Send Patient to Psychiatrist, Courtroom
-FDA News

02/04/2008 - A patient affected by Medtronic’s 2007 recall of defibrillator leads is suing the company, claiming unnecessary shocks led to post-traumatic stress syndrome that required psychiatric treatment. More>>>

Cardiac implants caused loss of enjoyment of life
-Southeast Texas Record
01/31/2008 - To treat life-threatening heart conditions, Texas residents Lawrence Booth and Larry Easter were given implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD), to detect and correct both fast and slow heart rates. But the men believe the ICD's have caused them pain and suffering and have filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer. More>>>

Man seeks psychiatrist after Medtronic recall
- Southeast Texas Record
01/23/2008 -  A Texas resident is claiming the unexpected shocks he received from a cardiac defibrillator constitute civil battery and caused him such severe anxiety that he is suffering from post traumatic stress and now requires psychiatric care. More>>>

Fremont man sues medical firm: Class-action lawsuit could affect thousands of Californians
-Trading Markets

01/03/2008 - A Fremont man has filed a class-action lawsuit against Medtronic Inc., a Minnesota-based medical technology company whose defibrillator wires for heart patients were recalled in October. More>>>

Heart-device failures keep patients on guard
-Orlando Sentinel

01/02/2008 - Tom Kern had a potentially lifesaving heart device implanted in his body last year. Now he wonders if it might harm him instead. More>>>

Recalled Heart Implant Gives Man Shock Of His Life

-Tyler Morning Telegraph
12/27/2007 -  In early December, Jerry Jackson received the shock of his life. Or six. The 63-year-old Mineola resident was sweeping crumbs off the bed where his granddaughter sat when a sudden surge in his chest caused him to twist in agony. More>>>

Patients with Defective Medtronic Defibrillator Leads Face
Difficult Decision
-Boston Now

12/26/2007 - Just over two months ago Medtronic warned doctors and about 250,000 patients that a lead that is used to connect a defibrillator to the heart could potentially fracture. The leads, called Sprint Fidelis, were recalled by Medtronic on October 15, 2007 after reports of fractures, unnecessary shocks, and death. While Medtronic has said that most patients do not need to have their leads replaced, but this has not assuaged the thousands of patients who have these leads implanted. More>>>

Medtronic to settle ICD lawsuits for $114 mln
-Reuters
12/23/2007 -  Medtronic Inc said on Friday that it has agreed to settle 2,682 legal cases related to its Marquis line of implanted cardiac defibrillators for $95.6 million plus $18.5 million in attorneys' fees. More>>>

Medtronic to Pay $114 Million In Settling Heart-Device Suits
-Wall Street Journal

12/21/2007 -  Medtronic Inc. said it reached a $114.1 million settlement agreement to settle lawsuits related to its Marquis line of implanted cardiac defibrillators. More>>>

Patients Wonder Whether to Replace a Wire That Might Fail
-New York Times

12/13/2007 - For one heart patient, there will be no more agonizing over whether the implanted device meant to save his life might kill him instead.On Tuesday, two months after Medtronic warned doctors and nearly a quarter-million patients that a wire, or lead, connecting their electronic defibrillators to their hearts might break, the 48-year-old patient had the lead and defibrillator removed and replaced. More>>>

Preemption Gets Boost from Bush

-PharmExec.com
12/12/2007 - A lawyer for the Bush administration declared last week that manufacturers of drugs and devices approved by FDA could not be held accountable for liabilities in state courts. The lawyer spoke in support of preemption in Riegel v. Medtronic, a Supreme Court case that could change the legal landscape of the pharma industry. More>>>

Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Device Preemption Case
-FDA News
12/11/2007 - The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Riegel v. Medtronic last week and will rule on whether the express preemption provision of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) preempts state-law claims seeking damages for injuries caused by medical devices with FDA premarket approval (PMA). More>>>

Medtronic reveals records request
- The Star Tribune, MN

12/05/2007 - Medtronic Inc. said in a quarterly filing Tuesday that it received a letter in late October from the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania requesting documents relating to the Fridley company's relationship with an unnamed customer. More>>>

Medtronic Probed on Alleged Doctor Payments
- The Wall Street Journal
12/05/2007 - Medtronic Inc. said it is under federal investigation for alleged payments made to doctors. The Minneapolis medical-device maker said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the Senate Finance Committee has requested information about ties between the medical-device industry and practicing physicians and information about Medtronic's suspended distribution of its Sprint Fidelis family of defibrillation leads, electrical wires that connect patients' hearts to defibrillators implanted in their chests. More>>>

Medtronic, Medical-Device Makers Seek to Block Suits
- Bloomberg
12/04/2007 - Medtronic Inc. and other medical- device makers have a chance to win a new shield from patient lawsuits in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. In arguments today in Washington, the justices will consider whether patients can press product-liability lawsuits over devices cleared for sale by the Food and Drug Administration's most rigorous approval process. A federal appeals court barred a suit that claims a New York man suffered permanent injury when a Medtronic heart catheter burst during an angioplasty. More>>>

If you or a loved one have had the device replaced or plan to have it replaced you may be entitled to compensation regardless if you suffered as a result of complications from surgery or the device itself. Contact the Medtronic attorneys of Ennis & Ennis today for a free confidential case evaluation. Our on staff nurse and lawyers are standing by to answer any questions you may have regarding the Medtronic pacemaker defects, a possible Medtronic class action lawsuit, or any other type of Medtronic Pacemaker litigation.