Medtronic agrees to settle certain liability cases for INFUSE Bone Graft

Medtronic Inc. announced 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 agreed, subject to certain conditions, to resolve the claims of an estimated 950 claimants for a total payment of approximately $22 million, according to a company press release.

This is not an admission of liability or validity of any defense in the litigation by Medtronic, but the agreement is a compromise of disputed claims, according to the press release.

The company still stands behind the INFUSE Bone Graft product, which has been used in more than 1 million patients since its approval more than 10 years ago and it will vigorously defend the product and company actions in the remaining cases, as noted in the release.

According to the press release, about 750 filed cases brought by approximately 1,200 individual plaintiffs remain pending in various courts throughout the United States and the majority of these cases are still in the early procedural stages. None have resulted in a finding of liability against Medtronic.

Medtronic’s SEC filings previously disclosed that certain law firms have advised the company they may bring a large number of similar claims against the company in the future. The company estimates those law firms represent about 2,600 additional unfiled claimants, as noted in the press release.