Medtronic, Inc. MDT today announced that
it has agreed with certain plaintiffs' counsel to settle their inventories of
filed and unfiled product liability claims related to INFUSE® Bone Graft.
Under the terms of the agreement, Medtronic has agreed, subject to certain
conditions, to resolve the claims of an estimated 950 claimants for a total
payment of approximately $22 million.
This agreement is a compromise of disputed claims and is not in any way an
admission of liability or validity of any defense in the litigation by
Medtronic. The company continues to stand behind INFUSE Bone Graft, which has
been utilized in more than one million patients since it was approved more
than ten years ago, and will vigorously defend the product and company actions
in the remaining cases. Earlier this month, on the eve of trial and after
several days of pretrial motions, a California trial judge entered summary
judgment in favor of Medtronic in the first INFUSE Bone Graft case scheduled
to go to trial. Approximately 750 filed cases brought by approximately 1,200
individual plaintiffs remain pending in various courts throughout the United
States. The majority of these cases are still in the early procedural stages
and none have resulted in a finding of liability against Medtronic.
As previously disclosed in Medtronic's SEC filings, certain law firms have
advised the company that they may bring a large number of similar claims
against the company in the future. The company estimates those law firms
represent approximately 2,600 additional unfiled claimants.
The company anticipates it will take a special charge in the range of $120 -
$140 million in its recently completed fourth quarter under the guidelines of
FAS 5. This charge accounts for the $22 million settlement announced today,
the estimated settlement of the approximately 3,800 (1,200 filed; 2,600
unfiled) additional claims, and certain costs associated with these
settlements.
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