Medtronic Attorney, Williams Kherkher

St. Jude Leads

While Medtonic has recently come under fire for not recalling their Sprint Fidelis leads earlier, St. Jude’s is about to come under fire for almost the same reason. They too are experiencing problems with their leads in a way that is detrimental to people’s health.

The Medtronic leads have been known to break at a higher incidence than was originally thought. They now have a 2.3% risk of breaking whereas they were originally thought to have a 1% chance of breaking. When the Medtronic leads break, they can issue a painful shock to the patient when one is not needed or they can fail to issue a shock when a shock is actually needed. As you’ll recall, the Medtronic leads were part of an internal defibrillator. Defibrillators are designed to shock the heart when it starts racing or loses any sort of rhythm at all. If a shock is issued when one is not needed, there can be a considerable amount of pain involved to the patient. If a shock is not issued when a shock is needed, death can be the result.

The St Jude’s leads are just now coming under fire and there is conflicting stories as to whether or not the leads are a problem. It has been shown by one study that the leads are punching through a patient’s heart causing serious injuries that can be fatal. A different study that is coming out in December says that this is not occurring at any higher incidence than is to be expected. We, the public, will find out in the coming months whether or not the report or the article is right.

If you or someone you know has been implanted with a Medtronic defibrillator using Sprint Fidelis leads and have experienced random shocks that may or may not have resulted in injury to yourself, there may be legal options available to you. Contact the Medtronic lawsuit attorneys of Williams Kherkher at 800-761-3187 to discuss what legal options exist and to schedule an initial consultation.