Say hello to MassDevice +3, a bite-sized view of the top three medtech stories of the day. This feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our 3 biggest and most influential stories from the day’s news to make sure you’re up to date on the headlines that continue to shape the medical device industry.

 

3. Solicitor General objects to Medtronic’s high court bid

MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Medtech titan Medtronic is treading a tough road in seeking Supreme Court review in a lawsuit accusing the company of liability for injuries a patient says were caused by the company’s implantable pain pumps.

The U.S. Solicitor General this month recommended that the Supreme Court refuse Medtronic’s petition for review, saying that a lower court had made the right call when ruling that the lawsuit is not preempted under existing federal law, Law360.com reported. Read more

2. Johnson & Johnson commits to $2.5B DePuy ASR settlement deal

Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics last week committed to the deal it struck last year to settle thousands of product liability lawsuits filed over its recalled metal-on-metal DePuy ASR hip implant.

DePuy Orthopaedics told the U.S. District Court for Northern Ohio, which is overseeing a multi-district litigation over the DePuy ASR device, that it’s waiving the walk-away rights allowed for in the settlement if too few DePuy ASR plaintiffs signed on. Although patients are still enrolling in the settlement program, “most eligible patients have opted into the program,” according to court documents. Read more

1. Medtronic slips ‘death penalty’ sanctions in pain pump death suit

Medtronic won’t face some of the so-called “death penalty” sanctions imposed by a Texas state court after an appeals court there reversed a portion of the lower court’s ruling.

The family of Tina McAdams sued Medtronic after her death following a spinal surgery, in which a morphine-dispensing pain pump was implanted. McAdams was discharged with the pump and instructions to continue taking oral doses of morphine; she died of morphine toxicity 3 days after leaving the hospital, according to court documents. The McAdams family also sued Gary Williams, the Medtronic employee who programmed the pain pump in the operating room, the hospital and several of its staff members, according to the documents. Read more