Medtronic Class Action: What Does a Class Action Mean to Medtronic Defibrillator Lead Recall Victims?
Our lawyers receive calls every day asking about what a Medtronic class action lawsuit means to them. The Medtronic class action will be in the form of a multidistrict litigation (“MDL”). Pursuant to 1968 law, an MDL is a procedural mechanism that will pull all of the Medtronic lead recall cases in federal court together in a single action for consolidated pretrial handling. Under this law, a seven judge-panel appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has the authority to consolidate the Medtronic cases and select a MDL judge to oversee the Medtronic class action.
In an MDL, there is not a single trial that resolves all of the cases. An MDL only pertains to pretrial discovery matters. After discovery has been conducted of the key witnesses and all of the relevant documents have been obtained, the Medtronic cases will be returned to the original court in which they were filed.
This actually makes sense both for Medtronic and for Medtronic defibrillator lead recall plaintiffs because it does not makes sense for anyone to have to depose the same witnesses over and over again if the same witnesses are people of interest in all of the Medtronic leadcases. For example, the person who made the decision to put the Medtronic leads on the market is going to be a relevant witness in every single case. In the Medtronic MDL, they will conduct what is called a trial deposition (or de bene esse deposition), in which the witness gives testimony by videotape which has the same effect as if the witness were to testify live a trial.
If you are a Medtronic plaintiff who would prefer to settle your case as opposed to going to trial, the MDL is a good vehicle to settlement. While an MDL is technically just for pretrial proceedings, functionally, if history is any guide, it will be the end point for the overwhelming majority of Medtronic cases. Big companies like Medtronic are driven by stock prices and financial reporting requirements. Investors typically want to limit a risk, which means resolving large cases through settlement. So an MDL class action creates an incentive to Medtronic to access the risk and what the value of the Medtronic lead recall cases really is which usually helps induce a reasonable settlement.
If you or a loved one has one of the four implicated defective Medtronic lead wires, click here to contact a Medtronic lead lawyer at our law firm or call us toll free at 1-800-553-8082. Our lawyers will promptly review your claim with no charge or obligation to you.
For more Medtronic recall information:
More News and Information on the Medtronic Lead Recall (Medtronic class action information)
Questions and Answers About Medtronic Lead Recall (frequent questions asked by Medtronic clients)
Medtronics Defibrillator Lead Recall Lawyer Analysis (will Medtronic follow the Merck settlement strategy?)
Congress Responds to the Medtronic Recall (details of Congress’ inquiry of Medtronic lead recall debacle)
Medtronic's Response to the Defibrillator Lead Problem (what did Medtronic know and when did it know it?)
Medtronics Letter to Patients with Recalled Lead (obtained from one of our Sprint lead recall clients)
Commentary on How FDA Failed Medtronic Defibrillator Patients (discussion of flawed system)
Information for Lawyers Seeking to Refer Medtronic Cases to Our Law Firm (information about our Medtronic attorneys for lawyers referring Medtronic lead recall cases)
Medtronics Defibrillator Lead Recall Lawyer Analysis (what went wrong)
Contact Us (call 800-553-8082 or contact us by email for more information on the Medtronic defibrillator class action information).
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