A problem has developed with the St. Jude implanted heart device: A wire or lead that connects a defibrillator to a patient’s heart has been failing, often with fatal results. The lead, a model called Riata, has been used by more than 128,000 patients worldwide. The electrical wires within the…
Articles Posted in Medical Device Liability
State Supreme Court Affirms Dismissal of Lawsuit Against Bayer Corp. for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction
In following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Daimlar AG v. Bauman, 134 S. Ct. 746 (2014) and BNSF Railway Company v. Tyrrleo, 137 S. Ct. 1549 (2017) and the Missouri Court’s earlier opinion in State ex rel. Norfolk S. Ry. Co. v. Dolan, 512 S.W. 3d 41 (Mo. En…
U.S. Supreme Court Prevents Out-of-State Resident Plaintiffs from Joining Pharmaceutical Defect (Plavix) Lawsuit
The U.S. Supreme Court has prevented 592 nonresidents from joining 86 California residents in suing Bristol-Myers Squibb in California state court for personal injury allegedly caused by Plavix, a blood thinner. At the state level, the California Supreme Court concluded that the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment did…
Illinois Appellate Court Revives Medical Device Lawsuit Dismissed by Federal Pre-Emption
According to the report of this Illinois Appellate Court (1st District) decision, new ground is being broken in a lawsuit brought by Senayda Norabuena against Medtronic Inc. The suit, which was first dismissed on motion, involved the use of a Medtronic medical device implanted in a spinal fusion surgery. The…
State Supreme Court Says Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Can Go Forward Without Expert
In a split decision, the Kentucky Supreme Court has allowed a medical malpractice lawsuit to proceed against the defendant, a surgeon, who was alleged to have chosen not to inform a patient, the plaintiff, of a risk associated with a device implantation procedure. The trial judge dismissed the case for…
U.S. Court of Appeals Affirms $2.1 Million Judgment in Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacement Case
This case concerned the first of over 500 cases regarding the Wright Medical Conserve “metal-on-metal” hip replacement device designed and manufactured by the defendant. The plaintiff filed a products liability suit alleging, among other things, that the defendant was liable for design defects based on strict liability and negligence. On…
State Supreme Court Reverses for Family of Patient Who Died After Complications from Da Vinci Robotic Surgical System
In this case, a manufacturer, Intuitive Surgical Inc., sold a surgical device, the robotic surgical system, to a hospital, Harrison Medical Center, which credentialed some of its physicians to perform surgery with the device. The surgical device is a robotic surgery tool called the “da Vinci System.” At the trial,…
Warning of Use of Transvaginal Mesh by U.S. Food and Drug Administration
In a recent Journal of the American Medical Association Surgery (JAMA Surgery) article, the safety concerns of the use of the transvaginal mesh in pelvic organ prolapse (POP) repair has been noted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).The recent article by two physicians was published in the Journal…
$42 Million Jury Verdict in Talc Lawsuit Linking Products to Carcinogens
A city of St. Louis Circuit Court jury found that Johnson & Johnson’s well-known white powder, Baby Powder and Shower to Shower and other products containing talcum, were the cause of the ovarian cancer and death of an Alabama woman. The Shower to Shower product line was sold by Johnson…
Patients Suing the Makers of the Anticlotting Drug Xarelto Claim That Drug Companies Have Deceived Federal Regulators
In a recent New York Times article, it was reported that Johnson & Johnson and Bayer, the makers of the anticlotting drug Xarelto, were complicit in staying silent in what is claimed to be an effort to protect the drug from criticism over its safety. Xarelto is sold in the U.S.…