MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 14, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lead attorneys for plaintiffs in the Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Sprint Fidelis Defribillation Leads litigation are pleased to announce an agreement to settle U.S. lawsuits related to Medtronic's Sprint Fidelis leads which were the subject of a field action announced on October 15, 2007.
Dan Gustafson, lead counsel for plaintiffs who were injured by the devices, stated, "We are very pleased with this settlement as it provides a significant recovery for the people injured by these leads."
The $268 million settlement is a major development and will offer meaningful compensation for individuals already injured by the devices or who suffer injury in the future. The agreement provides for settlement of all injury lawsuits and claims pending as of October 15, 2010.
The case has been vigorously litigated by both parties in federal and state courts across the country. The settlement is particularly unusual and noteworthy in that both the Minnesota state court and the Federal Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) court had dismissed the cases on federal preemption grounds. Appeals are pending in both the U.S. Court of Appeals and the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The settlement, however, will resolve all claims and terminate the MDL and Minnesota state court proceedings.
Charles Zimmerman, Chairman of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, called the settlement "an excellent example of what people can do when they act together to do the right thing for the public and for public health. I congratulate Medtronic and their Board of Directors for this agreement. And I congratulate all the plaintiffs and their counsel for staying the course and continuing to fight for what they believed was right."
The program of settlement will be administered by James Rosenbaum, retired Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, who will act as the third party neutral to allocate the settlements for individual claimant now and in the future.