Posted on January 20, 2006 | Red Herring
Lawsuit: Guidant Knew of Problems
Manufacturer accused of continuing to sell defective heart defibrillators
Associated Press
CORPUS CHRISTI - The New York Times and two Texas plaintiffs won access Thursday to documents they say show Guidant Corp. continued selling heart defibrillators after knowing the devices could be deadly.
The petition to urge the release of documents was filed as part of a lawsuit by two Corpus Christi residents against Guidant Corp., accusing the manufacturer of heart defibrillators of knowingly selling a defective product.
State District Judge Jack Hunter granted the motion to release the documents.
The handwritten notes from Fred McCoy, president of Guidant's Cardiac Rhythm Management, show a decision was made to sell off defective inventory, plaintiff attorney Bob Hilliard said.
Hilliard said the notes show McCoy "evaluating and considering what should we do" after learning of the problems.
"We are complaining about their conduct in 2002 when they learned there was a potential for short-circuiting," Hilliard said. "They made a decision to change the design and sell the defective inventory without notifying the public."
Hilliard is representing two patients who are suing Guidant Corp. in a case scheduled to go to trial in February. The trial is the first stemming from Guidant's defibrillators, which are used to sense irregular heart beats and shock the heart back into a correct pattern.
In June, the company said malfunctions occurred in their devices at least 45 times, and that there have been at least two deaths.
Indianapolis-based Guidant has recalled or issued warnings for about 88,000 of its heart devices and almost 200,000 pacemakers since June because of reported malfunctions.
Guidant spokesman Steve Tragash did not immediately return a call for comment.
http://www.theeagle.com/stories/012006/health_20060120037.php
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