Insurer wants out of $28m Biotronik legal loss

March 30, 2015 By Brad Perriello Leave a Comment

An insurance company that issued policies to Biotronik wants a federal judge in Oregon to declare that they don’t have to cover Biotronik’s losses in a pair of lawsuits filed over allegedly unneeded pacemaker implantations.

OneBeacon sued the German heart rhythm management company last week in the U.S. District Court for Oregon, seeking a declaratory judgment that it’s not liable to cover a $28 million ruling against Biotronik and any losses from another case that’s still pending, according to court documents.

The lawsuits allege that Biotronik "provided improper inducements" to Dr. Demosthenes Klonis so that he would use the company’s pacemakers "as part of a conspiracy to increase the number of Biotronik cardiac devices recommended by Dr. Klonis to his patients, including patients who did not need them," according to the documents.

In 1 case, Sowards v. Las Cruces Medical Center, the jury awarded the plaintiffs nearly $67.4 million in damages, including a $60 million punitive damages award that the judge later pared back to $25 million, court filings show.

OneBeacon argued that the provisions of the insurance policies it sold to Biotronik do not apply to "’bodily injury’ or ‘property damage’ included within the ‘products-completed operations hazard,’" according to the filings. That includes "all ‘bodily injury’ and ‘property damage’ occurring away from premises you own or rent and arising out of ‘your product,’" the insurer argued.

"Thus, each plaintiff’s bodily injury is included within and arose from the products-completed operations hazard and, therefore, is encompassed by the PCOH exclusions," OneBeacon argued, according to the complaint. "Accordingly, OneBeacon is entitled to a declaratory judgment that the policies’ PCOH exclusions bar coverage for the pacemaker actions."

Mojo Vision developing ‘smart’ contact lens
Mojo Vision is working with the FDA to develop a smart contact lens to help people with low vision. The lens overlays real-time contrast and lighting enhancements with zoom functionality and recently won FDA breakthrough device designation. “Receiving the Breakthrough Device Designation is a significant step in our research and development process. We look forward to… […]
FDA to EPA: Leave us out of your ethylene oxide rule
The FDA has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to tone down its proposed stricter regulation of ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions and the EPA complied. In an interagency comment on the EPA’s proposed rule governing commercial EtO users — which includes medical device sterilization plants — the FDA also asked that it be left out of… […]
Clippart debuts stepper-controlled flow valve
Clippard recently launched a new stepper-controlled proportional valve for precision flow control. The Eclipse valve uses the industry’s most robust and powerful miniature linear actuator, according to Cincinnati-based Clippard. The patent-pending Eclipse is designed for liquid and gas delivery, medical, analytical and industrial automation requiring ultra-fine resolution and repeatability. The design also allows for custom… […]
Supporting regulatory affairs departments to address clinical requirements under new MDR
By Dietmar Falke and Jaap Laufer, Emergo Group The May 25, 2020 MDR deadline is approaching rapidly, and by now many medical device manufacturers are aware that the MDR requires the proactive collection of post-marketing clinical follow-up (PMCF) data. Get the full story here at the Emergo Group’s blog. The opinions expressed in this blog… […]
5 tips to raise funding for your medical device
Securing funding can be a long and tedious process, and medical device businesses must work to position themselves as especially attractive to potential investors to maximize success and accelerate the fundraising process. Jon Speer, Greenlight Guru According to Alejandro Cremades, author of The Art of Startup Fundraising, it can take from six to nine months… […]
FDA recognizes latest ISO 14971 as medical device consensus standard
By Mark Leimbeck and Stewart Eisenhart, Emergo Group The US Food and Drug Administration has granted Recognized Consensus Standard status to the third edition of the ISO 14071 risk management standard for medical devices and IVD products. Get the full story here at the Emergo Group’s blog. The opinions expressed in this blog post are… […]
Synaptive Medical updates Modus V surgical microscope
Synaptive Medical announced that its U.S. and Canadian Modus V robotic digital microscope now includes updates such as additional 3D visualization and voice-activated control. The Modus V is a robotically controlled digital microscope used as part of Synaptive’s BrightMatter surgical suite designed for less invasive, patient-specific approaches in complex cranial procedures. The Modus V provides similar… […]
New machine can preserve donor livers for 1 week
Researchers in Switzerland have built a perfusion machine that can preserve human livers for transplantation for a week or more, potentially slashing the number of donor livers that must be discarded due to time-related deterioration. Existing perfusion technology can preserve a donor liver for up to 24 hours. The team of surgeons, biologists and engineers… […]
Smiths Medical launches Portex tracheostomy tubes and kits
Smiths Medical this week launched its Portex polyvinyl chloride tracheostomy tube and kit portfolio. The new polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tube portfolio has options for a variety of patients, according to the company. “Our goal was to create tracheostomy tubes and kits designed to help clinicians provide the best patient care. We’re excited to offer a variety… […]
FDA clears Cleveland Clinic 3D-printed airway stents
The FDA recently cleared 3D-printed, patient-specific stents developed by a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic physician Tom Gildea developed the stents to keep open the airways of patients with serious breathing disorders caused by inflammation, trauma, tumors and other masses. Airway stents come in a limited number of sizes and shapes and are… […]
Boston Scientific shares drop on Q4 sales news
Shares in Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) dropped 8% this morning on news of disappointing fourth-quarter sales. The company’s preliminary earnings report showed sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2019 coming in at $2.9 billion, below the $2.91 billion that analysts were expecting. The unaudited sales figure represents organic growth of 7.3%, missing the company’s own guidance of… […]