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Defective Defribillators
& Related Newswire
6/27/2006 9:31:00 AM | Boston Scientific to recall defective heart devices 
=(0) Boston Scientific has issued another recall for its Guidant division, on a variety of cardiac devices: some Insignia, Nexus and Contak Renewal pacemakers; and Ventak Prizm 2, Vitality, and Vitality 2 implantable defibrillators. A defect was found that could lead to premature battery failure. Five malfunctions, but no deaths, have been re...
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6/12/2006 4:23:00 PM | Medtronics targeted in St. Clair County again =(0) Medtronic is being sued by an Illinois man, claiming damages because the implantable defibrillator he received was later revealed to have a defective battery. He was subsequently hospitalized and is claiming personal and economic damages. The 24 counts in the lawsuit include fraud, negligence, misrepresentation and defective design..........
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6/8/2006 5:03:00 PM | Guidant never sent doctors letter about defibrillator risks =(0) Guidant considered warning doctors about a malfunction in its implantable defibrillator devices - but decided not to, according to documents. Instead of a warning letter that had been drafted, Guidant sent a routine "product update". Ultimately, Guidant ended up recalling the devices in question, and some pacemakers as well, after at least sev...
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6/2/2006 11:53:00 AM | 20 insurers sue over defective defibrillators =(0) Guidant faces a lawsuit over defective defibrillators - however this one is not from patients, but from twenty Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans, which must bear the consequences of increased health costs for those harmed. Patients whose internal defibrillators have been recalled face a sobering dilemma: have the device replaced, or leave it in...
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5/18/2006 5:16:00 PM | Recalls of Automated External Defibrillators Are Common =(0) Defibrillators - once used exclusively by doctors to restart failed hearts - are now commonly found in many public places and even some private homes, with the development of Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) which are simple for anyone to operate. However, a new study finds that up to one-fifth of them may be defective, according to th...
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5/16/2006 4:30:00 AM | New Guidant warning issued =(0) Boston Scientific has advised doctors that it discovered a flaw in certain defibrillator models made in March 2005. The models in question are the Vitality DS, Vitality AVT, Vitality 2, Contak Renewal 3, 4, and 4 AVT. The problem lies in a defective capacitor and doctors are urged to check their patients who have this device implanted. This is...
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5/10/2006 11:01:00 AM | Medtronic begins study on new ICD device =(0) Medtronic has begun a clinical trial to study a new device in the treatment of mild to moderate heart failure. The device is an implantable defibrillator, but also is able to transmit data via phone lines so that doctors can more closely monitor patient heart rate, pressure, body temperature and activity. ......
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4/28/2006 12:33:00 AM | BSX listens to Heart Rhythm Society =(0) Boston Scientific Corp. says it intends to implement all the recommendations put forth by the Heart Rhythm Society. These guidelines were developed following a recall of implanted cardiac defibrillators last year, and include: using remote monitoring to keep track of devices; independent committees for assessing device performance; direct...
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4/26/2006 5:06:00 PM | Heart Device Risks Examined =(0) A doctor's group, the Heart Rhythm Society, has called for better oversight of their products and better communication between medical device makers, doctors, and government with regard to defective devices and recalls. Several recalls occurred last year, some invoving Guidant, now owned by Boston Scientific. However another study found that peopl...
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4/26/2006 3:07:00 AM | Replacing heart device has high risk =(0) If your surgically implanted heart defibrillator is recalled, such as occurred recently with Boston Scientific devices - what do you do? Statistically, it is safer to not have it replaced, according to a new study, because risks of complications from the replacement surgery far outweigh risks of defibrillator failure. The study showed an ...
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4/26/2006 12:03:00 AM | Implantable Defibrillators Can Be Erratic, Studies Find =(0) Three studies, recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, examine the reliability statistics for implantable cardiac defibrillators. These devices are meant to detect an irregular heartbeat and deliver an electric shock to restore normal rhythm. Compared to pacemakers, which speed up the heartbeat with lower p...
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4/10/2006 8:15:00 PM | Guidant Trial on Recalled Heart Devices Will Be Postponed =(0) First the recall, now the lawsuits: the first lawsuit against Guidant to go to trial will begin in July, according to the Texas judge presiding over the case. The charges are fraud and deceptive trade pracices. Plaintiffs contend that Guidant knew that its defibrillators, implanted in the plaintiffs' chests, might be defective, but did not war...
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4/3/2006 4:09:00 PM | Guidant trial delayed over jurisdiction =(0) The first Guidant defibrillator trial is on hold because of jurisdictional questions raised by Guidant attorneys. The case was brought in Texas state court and filed by two Texas residents who also named a Texas company in the suit, but since the FDA approval has been brought into the case, Guidant attorneys are pushing to have the case moved to Fe...
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3/23/2006 7:07:00 PM | Woman: Failed defibrillator killed spouse =(0) A woman has filed a product liability and wrongful death lawsuit against Guidant Corporation because of a malfunctioning implanted defibrillator that may have killed her husband. Kathleen Gohde was alerted to the problem when while paying final respects to her husband, she heard a beeping sound indicating that the implanted defibrillator was malfun...
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3/19/2006 12:20:00 AM | Heart of the matter =(0) Susan Peterson, a Minnesota woman who was implanted with a Medtronic heart medical device to help her enlarged heart condition, found it difficult to get facts from Medtronic when they issued a recall for her medical device. Once the truth came to light, her Medtronic defibrillator was immediately replaced and she now works to secure improved legis...
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3/14/2006 9:08:00 AM | Deaths no higher with recalled heart devices: study =(0) A study has revealed that patients implanted with recalled heart devices do not have higher fatality rates than those patients who use products equipped with no safety warnings. Prominent defibrillator and pacemaker manufacturer Guidant Corp., has been issued numerous recalls and safety warnings over the past few years for their devices. While som...
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3/14/2006 4:07:00 AM | Bill targets device makers =(0) Rep. Tony Cornish of Minnesota has proposed a bill that would force medical device makers to cover the costs of not only replacement medical devices, in the case of a recall, but also the cost for the surgeries. Currently, in the case of a medical device recall, the manufacturer will replace the device itself, free of charge, but the insurance comp...
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3/13/2006 2:31:00 PM | Guidant: Now It’s Batteries =(0) Notable defibrillator and pacemaker manufacturer Guidant Corp., which has already been subject to numerous recalls, may be facing another safety warning. Representatives for the corporation alerted users that the possibility of low battery voltage in some heart devices may be the cause of yet another recall. The manufacturer, based in Indianapolis,...
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3/4/2006 12:54:00 AM | La. recipients of dubious transplant parts sue companies =(0) A class action lawsuit has been launched against medical supply company, Biomedical Tissue Services, by hundreds of Louisiana transplant recipients. According to the plaintiffs, several of the transplanted body parts, stolen from corpses, may have been infected with syphilis, hepatitis, or covered with cancer. The lawsuit claims that the New York s...
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