Medtronic Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Defective Spring Fidelis Defibrillator Lead in Kansas
November 16th, 2007 amy
Another Medtronic class action lawsuit has been filed over the company’s defective defibrillator, this time by two Kansas residents. The Medtronic lawsuits allege that the company didn’t warn those implanted with the defective defibrillators soon enough. The Medtronic Sprint Fidelis Leads, which were recalled in October 2007, have been linked to several deaths and injuries after the wire connecting the defibrillator to the heart detaches and causes massive electrical shock or stops delivering the proper shock when needed to save a patient’s life.
The Medtronic Spring Fidelis Defibrillator Lead recall, according to more than one Medtronic lawsuit, happened way too late, even though the company and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) were aware of the dangers associated with these defective defibrillators for many months prior to the actual Medtronic recall in October 2007.
By January 2007, the company had allegedly already received nearly 700 injury reports due to the defective Spring Fidelis Defibrillator Leads. That number grew to nearly 800 by April and to over 1000 by June. The Minneapolis Heart Institute even told the company, way back in February, that the institute would no longer be using the Medtronic Sprint Fidelis Leads and would instead use a different lead type that had a lower injury risk. Both Medtronic and the FDA neglected to do anything to help protect new patients from being implanted with the defective defibrillator.
