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Editor: Marc Jay Bern
Profession: Defective Medical Device Lawyer

Category: Medtronic Lawsuit News

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is set to hear a Medtronic case that will decide whether state negligence and product liability claims are pre-empted by federal law involving a defective product approved by the FDA.

The case involves Joseph Blunt Sr., who had a Medtronic defibrillator implanted on May 2004. A year later, Medtronic began advising doctors of possible battery shorting problems in the device, the Medtronic Marquis 7230.

As a precautionary measure, he and his doctor decided to remove the device and replace it with a new Medtronic model. At the time of the switch both the original device and new one were available and the FDA had placed no restrictions on selling devices with the original design.

Following the surgery, he has filed a lawsuit alleging negligence, strict product liability and a loss of consortium and companionship. The basis of the case is whether the Blunts' tort claims are pre-empted by federal law.