Abbott ’ s St. Jude Medical can ’ t escape Riata lead lawsuit

Abbott (NYSE:ABT) subsidiary St. Jude Medical can’t escape a product liability lawsuit brought over its recalled Riata defibrillator leads, a federal judge in California ruled this week. St. Jude pulled the silicone-coated Riata and Riata ST leads in 2010 after finding that some of the internal conductors had worn through their insulation, a failure that could result in patients receiving unwanted shocks. In November 2011 the company warned that the Riata leads appeared to fail more frequently than previously reported, leading to a Class I recall from the FDA. The company settled a raft of Riata product liability lawsuits in February 2015, ahead of its $25 billion acquisition early this year by Abbott. The latest Riata lawsuit, filed in April the U.. District Court for Northern California by Richard Connelly, alleged that the leads that were first implanted in 2003 malfunctioned last November as he slept, shocking him an estimated 16 to 20 times and causing “irreparable harm to his heart, body, and mind,” according to court documents. Connelly alleged strict liability for manufacturing defect and failure to warn, negligence per se and negligence, according to the documents. St. Jude moved to have the case dismissed, arguing that three of his claims are expressly preempted, one is impliedly preempted and all are insufficiently pled. Although Judge Edward Davila agreed with the company about the failure-to-warn and negligence per se, he declined to dismis...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Legal News Recalls Wall Street Beat Cardiac Rhythm Management stjudemedical Source Type: news