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9 of the Medtech Firms with the Biggest Legal Bills
May 27, 2015
10 Slides
Medtronic: $770 MillionMedtronic’s total is a bit unusual because much of it involves a transcatheter heart valves dispute settlement with Edwards Lifesciences. However, $140 million was due to Infuse Bone Graft litigation costs.The medical device giant, now based in Dublin, Ireland, announced in May 2014 that it would pay $22 million to settle about 950 claims, and set aside up to $120 million to settle an expected 3800 additional claims, related to its Infuse Bone Graft. It has been widely reported that as much as 85% of the Infuse that Medtronic sold was used for off-label purposes. Some of the lawsuits filed allege that Medtronic was engaged in promotion of those off-label uses, which the company vigorously denied.Continue >>
9 of the Medtech Firms with the Biggest Legal Bills
Product liability lawsuits can be a big burden on medical device companies. Occasionally, they can be disastrous financially.
For instance, Dow Corning filed for bankruptcy in 1995 based on hundreds of thousands of silicone breast implant claims. A decade before that, A.H. Robins was forced to file for bankruptcy while wrestling with lawsuits related to the Dalkon Shield intrauterine device (IUD).
The Dow Corning suit resulted in a $4.225 billion settlement, while the A.H. Robins case led to one worth $2.475 billion.
Lawsuits continue to be a major expense for many medical device companies, with the most recent culprits being transvaginal meshes, metal-on-metal hip implants, and off-label use of Medtronic’s Infuse bone graft product.
Here are nine medtech companies with some of the largest lawsuit expenses in their most recent fiscal years. Data is from a recent report from Standard & Poor’s Rating Services.
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Image of the statue on the Old Bailey, London from Wikipedia
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