New York Times, "Guidant Reparation Is Criticized"

          Guidant Corp.'s program to pay $2,500 to patients to replace a heart device that has had malfunctions is nowhere near sufficient to cover costs of the procedure, say plaintiff attorneys who are in consolidated litigation with the company.
          Charles S. Zimmerman, one of the plaintiffs' lead attorneys in litigation in Minneapolis, contended that the $2,500 offered by Guidant is "less than 10% of the cost of replacement." The multidistrict litigation, centered in federal district court in Minneapolis, brings all or nearly all the litigation against Guidant into one location.
          Plaintiffs plan to take several "bellwether" cases against the Indianapolis medical-device maker to trial next year. Guidant last year announced rare malfunctions in several models of its heart defibrillators and pacemakers. The federal prosecutor's office in Minneapolis has been investigating Guidant's actions related to heart defibrillators and pacemakers recalled in 2005. Guidant declined comment on the litigation.
          One category of cases against Guidant involves patients who have allegedly died or been injured in the surgery to replace malfunctioning devices. Electrophysiologists -- cardiologists who specialize in heart-rhythm problems -- say when a device is taken out, there is a risk of serious infection in one to three of every 100 patients. Infection surrounding a heart device can travel along the wire, or "lead," that connects a defibrillator or pacemaker to the heart. When that happens, the device and the lead must be extracted. Doctors say lead removal is riskier than removing a device.
          George J. Klein, chief of cardiology at the University of Western Ontario, said he is finding serious injuries because of the replacement surgery. "There have been several serious complications, including death," said Dr. Klein, in a review of cases across Canada. He said the "failure rate of the device has to be very substantive to justify replacing them."