Our Pearland injury lawyers bring to your attention a U.S. lawsuit against Medtronic, a major manufacturer of defibrillators. The lawsuit alleged that the plaintiffs suffered harm because of fractured wires in Medtronic defibrillators. The wire fractures allegedly resulted from poor design, careless welding, and poor quality control at the Puerto Rican plant where the Medtronic defibrillators underwent manufacture.
Approximately 8,100 U.S. plaintiffs harmed because of the flawed Medtronic defibrillators will receive an average of $33,000 each from the settlement. Pearland injury lawyers note that at least 13 people are known to have died because of the fractured wire product defects in the Medtronic defibrillators.
The fractured wires connected the Medtronic Sprint Fidelis defibrillators to the patients’ hearts. Medtronic stopped sales of the fractured defibrillator leads in 2007. The Sprint Fidelis leads received initial introduction to the market in 2004.
Prior to halting sales of the Sprint Fidelis defibrillator leads in 2007, Medtronic enjoyed more than a 50% share of the almost $6 billion global market for defibrillator devices. Almost 270,000 people had Medtronic defibrillator devices with the fractured wires in them at one time. More than 150,000 people around the globe are thought to retain the fractured leads at this time.
Our Pearland injury lawyers remind you that this settlement isn’t Medtronic’s first in a major defibrillator lawsuit. Medtronic defibrillators that allegedly would suddenly stop working led to a prior high dollar settlement. That prior 2007 settlement led to more than $114 million in payouts because of defective Medtronic defibrillators in its Marquis line of cardiac products.
Pearland injury lawyers ask: does $33,000 represent the average cost of a heart attack or of a wrongful death to you? If you’ve suffered harm because of a Medtronic defibrillator device or because of some other defective medical device, kindly contact us for a free legal consultation.
Our Pearland injury lawyers could help you evaluate the true worth of your case. We could provide the knowledge you need to help you understand your legal options for obtaining full financial compensation for your undeserved injury from the negligent manufacturer of the defective product.