Medtronic to create $35M settlement fund for implantable drug pump lawsuits
Medical device maker Medtronic has agreed to create a multimillion-dollar settlement fund to compensate hundreds of people who say they were harmed by the company's implantable drug pump, the SynchroMed II — a pain-fighting device that was the subject of a major legal settlement in 2015 between Medtronic and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
According to legal records obtained by the Star Tribune, about 500 people represented by three law firms are in the process of obtaining individual settlements from a $35 million fund that Medtronic agreed to create as part of a master settlement agreement with the plaintiffs. The settlement notice is dated April 2019, though at least one of the plaintiffs said no money has been distributed.
Separately, a Hennepin County judge in July granted a request to file confidential settlement paperwork in a SynchroMed wrongful-death case, Patricia A. Jones vs. Medtronic. Although the Jones case was initially thrown out of court, settlement talks surfaced in the court record this summer after an appeals court reinstated part of the case and sent it back to the trial court.
Medtronic spokeswoman Michelle Claypool e-mailed a statement on behalf of the company acknowledging that settlements have been reached, without confirming details.
Read more: http://www.startribune.com/medtronic-to-create-35m-settlement-fund-for-implantable-drug-pump-lawsuits/561565622/