Medtronic Defibrillator Patients Sue Medtronic Over Defective Sprint Fidelis Lead

A man who claims he received 47 unneeded jolts from his implanted defibrillator is suing Medtronic over the broken wires the company is recalling.

The lawsuit’s allegations include emotional distress and negligence, and it seeks restitution, disgorgement of profits, and punitive damages.

Medtronic Inc., maker of pacemakers and other heart devices, has acknowledged that wires connecting its implantable defibrillators to patient hearts break more often than it expected. It said five deaths may be linked to the broken wires. Medtronic said some 235,000 people have the Sprint Fidelis lead wires.

The plaintiff claims his defibrillator had to be removed because he got 47 jolts he didn’t need. They said the device was replaced with another defibrillator and a new set of Sprint Fidelis wires.

The lawsuit also said Luisi went to the emergency room after experiencing “frightening episodes of unnecessary shocks.” At the hospital, Luisi’s defibrillator “began delivering unnecessary shocks over and over again,” after someone from Medtronic used an instrument to check her device, according to the lawsuit. The wires were removed a month later.

Removing the wires can be dangerous because it may tear at scar tissue. The lawsuit said Luisi was forced to have her wires removed, “scarring her already fragile heart, and forcing her to undergo additional and unnecessary complicated surgery.”

The attorney that filed suit, said they decided on Friday to file the lawsuit, and he said he has 25 more clients who will sue in coming days as their complaints are written up. He said “he believes Medtronic disclosed the wire problems late Sunday because it knew the lawsuits were on the way.”

Carol Levenson, an analyst at Gimme Credit, wrote in a note on Tuesday that a 2005 Medtronic recall over defibrillator battery failures, which Levenson said was less severe than the new one, brought more than 1,000 personal injury cases.

“We would expect the litigation floodgates to open over the current recall as well,” she wrote.

Do I Have a Defective Medtronic Defibrillator Lawsuit?

The Medical Device and Product Liability Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus exclusively on the representation of plaintiffs in Medtronic lawsuits. We are pursuing individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new Medtronic Sprint Fidelis® defibrillator lead cases in all 50 states.

If you or a loved one have been injured by the Medtronic Sprint Fidelis® lead, you should contact us immediately. You may be entitled to compensation and we can help.