Nearly 6,000 Heart Patients Potentially Affected By Faulty Devices

Product liability experts have urged patients fitted with pacemakers to seek medical advice after a manufacturer issued a safety warning over one of their devices. 

The Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency have issued a medical safety alert, warning of a potentially life-threatening electrical fault identified in certain models of the Medtronic Insync III Pacemaker. Full details of the affected models are available here: https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/cardiac-resynchronization-therapy-pacing-crt-p-risk-of-loss-of-pacing-therapy 

The warning identifies that some of the devices may develop unexpectedly high and variable battery impedances, which can cause the pacemaker to become ineffective. The battery failures have been associated with medical problems including difficulty breathing, complete heart block, weakness and dizziness. Medtronic have received one report of a patient death which may have been contributed to by the fault. 

It is believed that nearly 6,000 potentially faulty devices have been supplied in the UK between June 2001 and October 2010, when this product was discontinued, and to date there have been two incidents associated with this problem reported within the UK. 

Mathew Newbould, a solicitor and product liability expert at law firm Irwin Mitchell urged patients who believe they may be affected by the product warning to seek urgent medical advice.

If you or a loved one has suffered due to a defective or faulty defibrillator, our expert personal injury claims team could help you claim compensation. View our Faulty Defibrillator Claims page for more information.