Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney Blog | Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a case that could have major implications for Medtronic Inc. and other makers of medical devices.

The lawsuit, Riegel v. Medtronic, was brought by Donna Riegel who says her husband, Charles, who has since died, was left severely disabled when a Medtronic-made heart catheter burst. A U.S. district court judge and then the U.S. Court of Appeals threw out her case.

But Donna Riegel has carried her fight to the Supreme Court. At issue is whether patients can sue makers of catheters and other devices through state tort law when those devices have been approved by federal regulators.

The Riegel v. Medtronic case has "big implications for the medical device industry," said Boston University law professor Frances Miller. "If they are in fact exempt from liability here, regardless of anything, they're going to save [the cost of] having to defend these cases."

Minneapolis-based Medtronic is one of the largest medical device makers in the world. Estimates for the size of this market vary widely, but they tend to hover around $100 billion for the U.S. industry and $200 billion worldwide.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed by a defective product in Pennsylvania, please contact the product liability attorneys at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule your initial consultation.