Medtronic’s recall of their Sprint Fidelis defibrillator leads has caused many cardiac patients to not only question whether they should have their leads replaced, but also to find out what type of litigation may be brought against the company.

We asked a prominent New York attorney familiar with the recall to comment. Here’s what he said:

Specifics about the defibrillators

Everybody who has a defibrillator is given, or should have been given, an identification card that they can carry with them in their wallet that has the model number, serial number and manufacturer of their device as well as their leads.

In many cases, an individual might have, for instance, a heart ICD (implantable cardio defibrillator) from another manufacturer (such as Guidant) with Medtronic leads or a Medtronic defibrillator with Guidant leads.

At this point, we’re really only looking at individuals with the Sprint Fidelis models with those model numbers, 6930, 6931, 6948 and 6949.

Lawsuits

Although it’s only been a few days since the recall, several people have already filed lawsuits against Medtronics claiming that the company acted negligently and caused them emotional distress by knowingly selling a defective product.

Some have petitioned courts to have their lawsuits certified as ‘class actions’, which basically means that a large number of people with similar legal claims join together in a group (the class) to sue someone. It’s still unclear as to whether any court will certify, or approve, a class action. However, individual lawsuits can always be brought.

How to preserve your legal rights

Whether you have a products liability case, a negligence case or a medical malpractice case, the earlier you speak to an attorney – the better. Depending upon your state, you’ll be subject to a specific amount of time to file a case – otherwise known as a statute of limitations.

So while the recall just occurred, some of these people may have had injuries going back several years, say a year or even a few months, so the earlier they speak to an attorney who can assess the situation to see if it’s something worth pursuing, the earlier they can preserve their rights.

Knowing when a statute of limitations starts to run is not a simple question to answer – especially when you are dealing with individuals from all over the country as every state has a different time. In addition, there are triggering events – events that will trigger the statute of limitations to start running. It could be when the injury was received, when it was discovered, etc. So, contacting an attorney right away can only be to your benefit.

If you’ve been implanted with a Medtronic’s defibrillator lead, contact a lawyer who understands how these types of lawsuits work. To contact a lawyer near you for a confidential review of your situation, click here.