Judge grants access to Guidant defibrillator documents

[hippiechick]

http://www2.indystar.com/articles/2/242818-4882-127.html

Judge grants access to Guidant defibrillator documents


CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS -- The New York Times and two Texas plaintiffs won access Thursday to documents they say show Guidant Corp. continued selling some models of its heart defibrillators after knowing the devices could malfunction.

The petition to urge the release of documents was filed as part of a lawsuit by two Corpus Christi residents against the Indianapolis-based Guidant, which is the target in a bidding war between Boston Scientific Corp. and Johnson & Johnson, both of which hope to acquire Guidant's business in a fast-growing $10 billion market of implantable defibrillators and pacemakers.

The lawsuit accuses the maker 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 division, show a decision was made to sell off defective inventory, plaintiff attorney Bob Hilliard said.

:wtf:

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."

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