Guidant Reaches Defibrillator Settlement, Agrees to Pay $195 Million

BREAKING NEWS: 10.15.07--Medtronic, Inc., the world's largest maker of electronic heart devices, announced they are suspending sales of Sprint Fidelis leads. According to the FDA, these wires, used to connect defibrillators to the heart, may break or erode and may increase chance of injury. Learn more about the Medtronic Sprint Fidelis Recall.

Boston Scientific Corp., Guidant's parent, has agreed to pay $195 million toward 4,000 claims that its defibrillators were defective.

After negotiating with a magistrate judge, the two sides reached an agreement in federal court in Minnesota. The case had been set to go to trial July 30, according to the Boston Globe.

The settlement resolves more than 1,500 lawsuits representing approximately 4,000 people who received defective Guidant defibrillators. A number of other suits are pending against Guidant elsewhere in the United States and Canada, but the Minnesota case is the largest single piece of litigation.

Guidant voluntarily began recalling the product in June 2005, and that recall eventually expanded to include 109,000 defibrillators, according to Bloomberg.com.

Plaintiffs' attorneys have argued that the company knew as early as June 2002 that the devices were defective and hid those flaws from consumers.

If you believe you or a loved one was the recipient of a defective defibrillator, please fill out the firm below for a free case evaluation.

Weitz & Luxenberg is no longer accepting Guidant Defibrillator cases.

see also:

MADIT II and SCD-HEFT Comment Guidant Defibrillators Initial Public Comments 4
Initial Public Comments on Guidant's Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator

FDA Q&A on 4/07 Recall FDA Q&A on New Guidant/Boston Scientific Defibrillators Recall
FDA Q&A: April '07 Recall of Guidant/Boston Scientific Defibrillators

News & Warnings Guidant Defibrillator - Public Commentary on Defibrillators and the Guidant Recall
Guidant defibrillator recall public comment. FREE lawsuit information