Post: MEDTRONICS

Posted by kathy on 8/04/09

yes i have and it seems a lot of lawyers are afraid of this
.. no one wants to take action... had the MEDTRONICS pain
stimulator installed in 1999, and within 2 yrs I needed to
have the wires replaced. Since that time & until the present
the wiring for my unit failed a total of six times. Each
time required a surgery & the time off from work has caused
severe financial hardship.
One of the ways I could tell the leads(wires) were failing
was that I would receive shocks in the area that they joined
together even when the unit was turned off. Several times
this caused me to fall down from the sudden shock, once I
nearly fell down a flight of stairs.
This all came to a head last year June 2008 when once again
my doctor had to go back in to replace failed leads, about 6
weeks after the operation I developed a infection and they
went back in & cleaned out the sight. The infectious disease
Dr. put a PIC line in my right arm that went all the way in
the vena cavae of my heart. In September they removed the
PIC line and then after about 4 weeks the infection came
back this went on for the rest of the year until November
when my doctor took all the equipment out of my back in a
last ditch effort to clear up the infection. My doctor also
suggested that I go with a different company for my Spinal
Cord Stimulator due to MEDTRONICS problems with their 2 lead
system. In January of this year my doctor installed a ANS
unit which has a single lead is working fine so far.
I feel that because of a design flaw in the MEDTRONIC
leads I had to undergo numerous unnecessary surgeries to
replace a faulty product that should never have been used. I
also believe I wouldn't have gotten that infection if the
joint in the MEDTRONIC leads hadn't failed & filled up with
fluid. I believe I deserve compensation for my lost work
time as well as pain & suffering. I also believe my husband
should be entitled to something for loss of services as he
had to do all the cooking, cleaning, & household chores I
would have been doing if not for being incapacitated during
my recovery times.
I have discussed suing MEDTRONIC with my doctor & he has
agreed to be a "WITNESS OF FACT" for me, I'm sure there are
other doctors who would testify to the problems MEDTRONIC
leads have caused their patients. I also heard that
MEDTRONIC has stopped using their 2 lead system.......kinda
makes you wonder?What happens if your health and well-being
are compromised by the very medical device that is supposed
to protect you? Who is responsible for the medical expenses
and pain and suffering incurred when a medical device does
more damage than good?

Posts on this thread, including this one

MEDTRONICS, 8/04/09, by kathy.