Boston Scientific to Pay $240 Million Guidant Defibrillator Lawsuit Settlement
November 5th, 2007 amy
Defective defibrillators remain a hot topic as lawsuits are filed and big payouts ordered. Boston Scientific Corp.’s Guidant unit has agreed to pay a minimum of $240 million to settle 8,000 consolidated claims currently in litigation in Minnesota District Court. This defibrillator settlement amount is $45 million more than originally announced. Boston Scientific Corp, which acquired Guidant last year, announced the original $195 million defibrillator settlement in July. But will $240 million be enough?
Although $240 million dollars might sound like a lot of money, divided 8,000 times it might not add up to enough to make some folks want to settle, especially since Boston Scientific reserved $732 million for legal claims spawned by the Guidant purchase.
Indiana-based Guidant began the defibrillator recall in June of 2005, but patient lawyers contend the company knew that the devices were flawed back in 2002 and hit the problem to protect sales. The recalled defibrillators have caused at least seven deaths to date.












