St. Jude Riata Lead Wire Attorneys

SHOOP | A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION continues to accept cases involving defective medical devices related to St. Jude's Riata and Riata ST lead wires which connect to heart defibrillators. These devices have been linked to twenty-two (22) deaths due to short circuiting according to an article published in a leading cardiologic periodical.

St. Jude ceased its sale of these devices in December of 2010 due to short-circuiting and failure concerns, but more than 79,000 people in the U.S. still have the St. Jude's Riata and Riata ST lead wire implants. St. Jude disputes this and further disputes the precise number of patient deaths.

Nevertheless, the company halted sales of its Riata leads because of evidence confirming that the coating over the wires could wear down or break down over time, resulting in exposure of the wires themselves. Experts note that electrical shorts produced by these worn down and exposed wires are particularly lethal because they may occur quickly during shock delivery generated by the defibrillator. If this is indeed the case, failure to defibrillate may be the first and only sign of lead wire failure.

Lead wires have long been one of the most pronounced safety obstacles associated with implantable pacemakers and heart defibrillators. In 2010, global device manufacturer, Medtronic, paid $268 million to settle various such lawsuits brought on behalf of patients who received defective lead wires, which could fail over time. The company estimated at least thirteen (13) patients died because of the problem, which it first reported in 2007.

SHOOP | A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION is currently handling and taking on additional matters involving the St. Jude Riata and Riata ST lead wires, and continues to investigate and gather information regarding these associated issues.

If you or a family member has suffered a failure of these lead wires, you need experienced legal counsel with significant experience in product defect matters. Contact SHOOP | A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION today to speak with an experienced Los Angeles defective product and medical device attorney at (866) 884-1717.