In the final days of 2016, a federal appellate court revived a lawsuit brought by a group of shareholders accusing Medtronic, a major medical device and technology company, of concealing information about the negative impacts of its bone growth protein product, Infuse, for over 10 years.
According to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, a lower court judge incorrectly concluded that the plaintiffs filed their action outside the statute of limitations. According to the lower court record, the plaintiffs did not file their complaint until two years after they learned about Medtronic’s alleged fraudulent activity. The lawsuit also states that executives at the company were not truthful with investors regarding the commercial viability and safety aspects of the Infuse bone growth protein. They also allege that company analysts were not truthful about the prospects of a possible follow-on product, Amplify.
The complaint states that the shareholders purchased shares of Medtronic stock in reliance on these misrepresentations and suffered serious financial harm when the stock price crashed after numerous reports questioning the safety of Medtronic’s Infuse product surfaced. These reports and numerous lawsuits filed against Medtronic allege that the Infuse bone growth paste was used in countless off-label procedures.
When the FDA approved Infuse, it only approved the product for use in lower lumbar spinal surgeries. Several doctors, however, used the product in cervical and mid-spine procedures. The product is designed to promote bone growth, helping ruptured discs and herniated discs fuse back together. Instead, the protein paste leads to rapid and uncontrollable bone growth, resulting in devastating injuries for patients. Common symptoms that Infuse patients experience include difficulty breathing, swallowing, or speaking due to airway compression, severe neck swelling, chronic pain, nerve pain, and nerve damage. In some cases, patients experienced infertility as a result of receiving the Infuse bone growth protein paste.
Additionally, some reports indicate that surgeons who have financial ties to Medtronic failed to report these adverse complications involving off-label procedures in clinical studies and trials. Several government agencies have launched investigations into Medtronic’s activities regarding Infuse. According to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, Medtronic was “heavily involved” in modifying the content of trials and studies about the safety and effectiveness of Infuse.
Also, thousands of individuals have filed lawsuits seeking compensation for injuries resulting from receiving treatments using the Infuse product. Medtronic has already agreed to settle several hundred of the pending lawsuits against it.
At Moll Law Group, our dangerous medical device lawyers have assisted victims and their families with seeking justice after suffering unnecessary and painful injuries as a result of a medical device company’s carelessness and recklessness. We proudly serve clients throughout the nation, including in Illinois, New York, Florida, and Texas. If you’ve suffered injuries as a result of Medtronic’s Infuse product or another dangerous medical device, we may be able to assist you in seeking the compensation you deserve. To set up your free consultation, call us now at 312-462-1700 or contact us online.
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