Wrongful Death Suit Alleges Guidant Defibrillator Failed

In a wrongful death lawsuit filed last week in Ramsey County District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota, the plaintiff is claiming that the decedent, Allan Gohde, died because of a short-circuit in his defibrillator.  According to an article in the Boston Globe, Kathleen Gohde was paying her final respects to her husband when she heard a beeping sound coming from his chest.  The products liability suit alleged that the sound was an indication that something had gone wrong with the defibrillator that was implanted in his chest and that was supposed to maintain his heart beating at a normal rhythm.  The defendants in the suit are Guidant Corp. and its Arden Hills subsidiary, where the defibrillators are made.  The claim against Guidant is one of several that have been filed against the company since it recalled several thousand of the devices.  A document, an adverse event reporting form Guidant filed with the Food and Drug Administration, concluded that on the morning of the death of Mr. Gohde the defibrillator attempted a shock but the device became non-responsive. Guidant's conclusion on the form was that the "device failure directly contributed to event."  The event was marked as "death."  By Amy Forliti, AP
MKS