Device-Maker Medtronic Weighed Down With Lawsuits

But the CMS may be ahead of the game with Medtronic. Jerry Walters, director of the financial services group at the CMS, told the Times that the government and Medtronic "were looking at where the responsibility and liability for payment lies."

In addition to the cost of surgery, according to Bloomberg News, on February 16, 2006, based on "Medtronic's estimate of a 2 percent to 5 percent post-implantation infection rate, 380 to 950 patients may have developed infections after replacement of their devices."

According to Bloomberg, the cost of the defibrillator replacement at a Des Moines hospital and post-operative complications reached $100,000, for Jim Strasko, an unemployed 45-year-old father of six, who was uninsured and disabled when Medtronic sent him a letter about replacing his defibrillator.

Indebtedness drove him to the "humiliation" of bankruptcy and problems in his new marriage, Mr Strasko told Bloomberg in an interview.

Apparently uninterested, Medtronic spokesman, Rob Clark, told Bloomberg that the company doesn't keep track of deaths, disabilities or extra medical costs resulting from such complications.

More information for injured parties can be found at Lawyers and Settlements.com

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/medtronic_lawsuits.html

Evelyn Pringle
evelyn.pringle@sbcglobal.net

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