A Medical Device Daily

A batch of lawsuits against Medtronic (Minneapolis) stemming from the October 2007 recall of the company's Sprint Fidelis defibrillator leads has been dismissed, according to a recent Reuters report.

Minnesota District Court Judge Denise Reilly last week granted a motion by Medtronic to dismiss 600 separate personal injury claims related to use of the leads, according to the report.

The leads – the wire connecting the device to the heart – were recalled two years ago because of the potential for fracture, which can result in serious injury or death (Medical Device Daily, Oct. 16, 2007).

According to court documents, the judge ruled the claims are preempted under federal law. Early last year the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the limits on lawsuits against device makers, voting 8-1 to bar a lawsuit filed against Medtronic. The ruling in the case of Riegel v. Medtronic from the high court gave protection against thousands of lawsuits filed against device companies who received premarket application approvals from the FDA, saying patients generally can't sue in state courts for defects in products that have received that agency approval (MDD, Feb. 21, 2008).