The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on lawsuits by people who received the Medtronic spinal device known as Infuse and “are pursuing a new legal pathway around rulings that have kept them from getting a day in court.” The group is trying to work around the legal concept of “pre-emption,” which “means federal law takes precedence over state law. The Supreme Court has extended this premise to say that almost no one can sue for damages caused by medical devices that received premarket approval from the FDA.” The group says the FDA warned doctors in 2008 about unapproved uses of the device and is arguing in lawsuits that Medtronic illegally promoted “uses of Infuse that differ from what the FDA specifically approved.”
From the American Association for Justice news release.
