When announcing the recall last year, Medtronic said it would provide a new defibrillator to patients and up to $2,500 for out of pocket expenses. But the company expects taxpayers, through programs like Medicare, and insurance companies, to pick up the tab for the hospital and doctor bills incurred during the replacement surgery.
However, the company is now facing scores of lawsuits claiming that patients should not be expected to bear any of the costs for having the devices replaced. About 200 lawsuits from states all over the country are seeking class-action status and have been consolidated in US District Court in Minneapolis before Judge James Rosenbaum.
Last month, Medtronic asked the Judge to dismiss the lawsuits, arguing that FDA regulations for medical devices preempt lawsuits in state courts and that the FDA has special authority over lifesaving or life-sustaining medical devices, such as defibrillators. "Any warning has to be regulated by the FDA," Medtronic attorney, Michael Brown, said.
But attorneys for the plaintiffs said Medtronic "glossed over" the problem in an October 2003, filing with the FDA that sought approval of a new defibrillator model, according to a July 11, 2006, article by the Associated Press.
Judge Rosenbaum is expected to issue a decision on Medtronic's motion in early fall.
Six months after the first recall in 2005, the company was in hot water with the FDA again over another group of devices. In a June 9, 2005 letter, the FDA said that Medtronic failed to correct manufacturing problems and investigate its LifePak 12 external defibrillators and cited damaged cable connectors and failures to follow through with preventive action after inspections of the company's Redmond, Washington plant.
The LifePak 12 external defibrillators, used in hospitals to shock the heart back to a normal rhythm, are similar to the LifePak 500 devices the company recalled. Medtronic's cardiac rhythm management business, which also includes pacemakers and implantable defibrillators, accounted for 46% of its $2.78 billion in sales in its latest quarter, according to Bloomberg News on June 22, 2005.
At the time, about 60,000 LifePak 12 external defibrillators were in use worldwide, Mr Clark said.
In the warning letter, the FDA said Medtronic did not investigate all complaints about defibrillator malfunctions, including one involving a patient's death. Problems were linked to broken or bent pins in the cable connectors, possibly because the company did not have adequate inspection procedures, the agency said. Failure to correct the problems may result in legal and civil penalties, the FDA warned.
Finally, in another turn of events that could have a negative impact on the financial future of the company, Medtronic is awaiting the final word on a Medicare proposal that would decrease reimbursement for procedures that are considered excessively profitable such as implanting heart devices.
Under the pending proposal, the Medicare reimbursement for implants would be cut from $31,833 to $23,755, or a loss of $8,078 for each procedure.
More information for injured parties can be found at Lawyers and Settlements.com
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/medtronics_legal.html
Evelyn Pringle
evelyn.pringle@sbcglobal.net
(Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for OpEd News and an investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government and corporate America)
However, the company is now facing scores of lawsuits claiming that patients should not be expected to bear any of the costs for having the devices replaced. About 200 lawsuits from states all over the country are seeking class-action status and have been consolidated in US District Court in Minneapolis before Judge James Rosenbaum.
Last month, Medtronic asked the Judge to dismiss the lawsuits, arguing that FDA regulations for medical devices preempt lawsuits in state courts and that the FDA has special authority over lifesaving or life-sustaining medical devices, such as defibrillators. "Any warning has to be regulated by the FDA," Medtronic attorney, Michael Brown, said.
But attorneys for the plaintiffs said Medtronic "glossed over" the problem in an October 2003, filing with the FDA that sought approval of a new defibrillator model, according to a July 11, 2006, article by the Associated Press.
Six months after the first recall in 2005, the company was in hot water with the FDA again over another group of devices. In a June 9, 2005 letter, the FDA said that Medtronic failed to correct manufacturing problems and investigate its LifePak 12 external defibrillators and cited damaged cable connectors and failures to follow through with preventive action after inspections of the company's Redmond, Washington plant.
The LifePak 12 external defibrillators, used in hospitals to shock the heart back to a normal rhythm, are similar to the LifePak 500 devices the company recalled. Medtronic's cardiac rhythm management business, which also includes pacemakers and implantable defibrillators, accounted for 46% of its $2.78 billion in sales in its latest quarter, according to Bloomberg News on June 22, 2005.
At the time, about 60,000 LifePak 12 external defibrillators were in use worldwide, Mr Clark said.
In the warning letter, the FDA said Medtronic did not investigate all complaints about defibrillator malfunctions, including one involving a patient's death. Problems were linked to broken or bent pins in the cable connectors, possibly because the company did not have adequate inspection procedures, the agency said. Failure to correct the problems may result in legal and civil penalties, the FDA warned.
Finally, in another turn of events that could have a negative impact on the financial future of the company, Medtronic is awaiting the final word on a Medicare proposal that would decrease reimbursement for procedures that are considered excessively profitable such as implanting heart devices.
Under the pending proposal, the Medicare reimbursement for implants would be cut from $31,833 to $23,755, or a loss of $8,078 for each procedure.
More information for injured parties can be found at Lawyers and Settlements.com
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/medtronics_legal.html
Evelyn Pringle
evelyn.pringle@sbcglobal.net
(Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for OpEd News and an investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government and corporate America)
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