The telltale heart device

February 16, 2015 by Brad Perriello

A pacemaker made by St. Jude Medical helped reportedly helped clear a son accused of murdering his father by establishing a time death that was covered by the son’s alibi.

Claudio Cara, 56, was stabbed 5 times in the house he shared with his son, Frank Cara, according to the Toronto Star. Although the younger Cara had an alibi – he was visiting family at the time – he still spent 10 months in jail as his father’s accused killer as Canadian police built their case against him. Read more

Pelvic Mesh lawsuits: J&J drops claim that women were asked to lie for payouts

February 18, 2015 by Brian Johnson

Johnson & Johnson has withdrawn its motion to have a federal judge overseeing thousands of pelvic mesh lawsuits to force the plaintiffs to prove they have a valid claim.

Attorneys for JNJ and its Ethicon subsidiary were granted a motion to withdraw the discovery bid by U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin on Feb. 11, according to a report in Law360. Attorneys for the New Brunswick, N.J.-based medical products conglomerate did not provide a reason as to why they withdrew their motion, the news source reported. Read more

Boston Scientific to pay J&J $600 million to settle Guidant suit

February 18, 2015 by MassDevice

Medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp on Tuesday said it has agreed to pay $600 million to Johnson & Johnson to settle a long-running lawsuit over Boston Scientific’s 2005 acquisition of rival Guidant.

J&J had sought more than $7 billion in damages after it lost a bidding war to Boston Scientific following an initial deal to buy Guidant for $21.5 billion in 2005. J&J accused Guidant of breaking that deal. Read more