Boston Scientific Agrees to $195 Million Settlement for Recalled Heart Monitoring Devices

By Daniel Hawn

Published on July 17, 2007

Boston Scientific President and CEO Jim Tobin and lead plaintiffs' attorney Charles S. Zimmerman are both pleased with the settlement, which was achieved during mediation with U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur J. Boylan in Minneapolis.

Since June 2005, Guidant has issued recalls or safety warnings for nearly 300,000 pacemakers and defibrillators. The company has been criticized for failing to publicly disclose the problems in a timely manner.

After acquiring Guidant in April 2006 for $27 billion, Boston Scientific inherited approximately 1,430 lawsuits involving the implantable heart devices. As of March 31, the company had allotted $732 million to cover expenses related to the lawsuits. The $195 million awarded in the July 13 settlement is about one-fourth the amount set aside by the company. Boston Scientific has not disclosed the reason for the discrepancy.

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Keyword Tags: personal injury, defective products, misc defective products

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1

My dad died Nov 1, We know the nurses did something, the Doctor went on vacation said my dad would be find, that he is doing good. Doctor left that friday, and there was another doctor that should have been on duty, My mom asked him if he was going to be on duty he said yes, Well the doctor never showed up. When the night shift nurses came on they did not know what they were doing. They were going back and forth, reading how to do things. It was a night mare they stuck a tup down my dads throat they said the doctor order it. My dad told them he didn't want it in but they refused to listen to any thing he had to say or my family my son is 18 and had to see this terrible thing that happen to my dad. We have to live with this the rest of are lives. Knowing that no one was listen to us. My dad wrote a note to my mom, You barely can read it but it said had blood in urien and throat they put a pacemaker and a difibrillator in him. But on Monday the Oct 27 my dad went in for a Upper and Lower GI they didn't check his heart. Then on Wed Oct 29 he had a heart attack, He was tooken to ada hosptal then he was med flight to Babtist memorail Hopital in oklahoma city they put a balloon in his leg and a pacemaker in his heart then they had oxygen on he was doing really good so the doctor said since he was doing really well they decided to take the pace maker out and the ballon out of his leg he was sitting up in the bed eating ice and spetting out flem he was doing so good. The doctor said he might have to have a temparily dialaisis on. They decided to take ever thing of him since he was doing good but the doctor was going on vacation that he should be fine. The night shift came in then everthing turned into a night mare, They didn't know what they were doing. They said the doctor that was on call order to have everything put back in my dad then that when his blood pressure started to come down I think he died that night his temparture was 47 degrees the nurses would do nothing ignore anything we had to say, My dad was bleeding to death, And no one did anything they said the doctor on call wouldn't be intill the morning it was to late then They pronounce my dad dead 9:45 am but we think he died way before them we are waiting for medical records. It is very hard for me to explain this I just remmeber everything i seen we have 5 witness to tell you what these nurses did. I cry everynight my sister had to get on depression pills my mom can't sleep at night my mom blams her self becasue no one would help us protect him. My son is very emotional because of this. If you like to talk to us I hope you can help use the funeral home said 7 people from that hospital had died and this town is very small the night my dad died 6 people died.

LaDonna, about 1 year ago

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