Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer - Defective Medical Devices

Guidant Initiates Worldwide Physician Communications Regarding Important Safety Information and Corrective Action about Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators

Ed Smith — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:22:15 GMT

Guidant Corporation is voluntarily advising physicians about important safety information regarding certain devices. Guidant has apprised FDA of these actions, and FDA has indicated that it will classify them as recalls. These communications advise physicians and their patients of safety information and are intended to limit adverse events. Physicians should use this information to decide how best to treat their patients.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Smith

FDA Issues Nationwide Notification of Recall of Certain Guidant Implantable Defibrillators and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Defibrillators

Ed Smith — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:19:42 GMT

FDA is notifying health care providers and patients that the Guidant Corporation is recalling certain of its implantable defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators. These devices can develop an internal short circuit without warning, resulting in failure to deliver a shock when needed.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Smith

Guidant Halts Use Of Defibrillators

Ed Smith — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:15:28 GMT

Medical device maker Guidant Corporation has announced a series of recalls culminating in a September 22, 2005 recall, recalling nearly 100,000 implanted defibrillators and pacemakers because of potential electrical malfunctions. The defect essentially places patients at risk as a result of an internal short circuit which comes without warning and can either result in a failure to deliver a shock to the heart when needed or, deliver a shock to the heart when not needed. This, obviously, can lead to serious life threatening consequences and events.

Advances in science and technology have led to the creation of medical devices that allow patients to live a longer, more comfortable life. Unfortunately, there are flaws in manufacture and operation in some of these devices which lead to injury and death. The Guidant Corporation recently recalled several models of its implanted defibrillators which affects over 50,000 implant victims.

Companies that manufacture or sell products must be held accountable for their actions including the sale of defective products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Smith

Human Tissue Recall from Biomedical Tissue Services

Ed Smith — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 23:17:11 GMT

Every year there are approximately one and a half million new surgical procedures known as Allografts - surgical transfers of bone, skin, tendons, and other tissues in which tissues from cadavers are transplanted into patients.

Recently, the New Jersey tissue company known as Biomedical Tissue Services was criminally indicted for illegally harvesting human tissue from corpses. Biomedical then placed and sold the tissue into the stream of commerce (to hospitals, etc.) throughout the United States without appropriate tissue monitoring which would prevent the introduction, transmission and spread of communicable diseases.

As a result, patients/victims throughout the country have received recall notices from the FDA and/or their medical providers informing them that they may have received in their surgery illegally harvested body parts as tissue transplants. Unfortunately for these victims, the FDA is concerned that the untested body parts and tissues implanted in them will cause them to be potentially at risk of developing HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Syphilis, and other infectious diseases.

If you or a member of your family were a victim of this scam, please contact our offices immediately.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Smith

Guidant Lawsuit Money Set Aside

Staff Writer — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 14:24:58 GMT

Boston Scientific announced earlier this month that it has set aside $381 million in anticipation of lawsuits stemming from faulty Guidant defibrillators and pacemakers. Boston Sci inherited Guidant's legal problems when it bought the company earlier this year for $27 billion.

Included in the fallout are about 72 product liability class action lawsuits and about 477 individual lawsuits. The suits are pending in various U.S. state and federal jurisdictions and allege personal injuries associated with defibrillators or pacemaker recalls.
An additional nine lawsuits are pending in Canada, six of which are class actions and three are individual.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer