Defibrillator Wires of Defective Product Linked to Multiple Fatal Deaths According to Cellino & Barnes Personal Injury Attorneys

New York - St. Jude Medical Inc. is reported to have caused 20 fatalities due to their Riata and Riata ST heart defibrillator wires "high voltage" failures. Medical professionals are attempting to determine what caused the flawed heart component to malfunction.

Although St. Jude halted all sales of the plagued medical device in late 2010, thousands of potentially defective Riata defibrillator wires are still implanted in patients all across the United States. The medical giant has issued a recall due to a tendency for the metal wires to wear through their silicon coating, posing a possible fatal risk to patients.

The number of potentially defective Riata heart defibrillators distributed in the United States is more than 79,000, with multiple fatal incidents reported. The reported incidents are said to have resulted from a short-circuiting unrelated to the protruding wires and that these incidents have happened over a span of about five years. The error in this product can be attributed to a flawed regulatory system for how medical products are tested.

The recall issued by St. Jude includes two models of Riata heart defibrillators-the Riata and Riata ST, both of which were surgically placed in cardiovascular patients. The Riata and Riata ST defibrillators are prone to high voltage failure, resulting in possible patient death.

Patients having received Riata defibrillators at the St. Jude between 2002 and 2010 experiencing problems are urged to contact the medical institution as quickly as possible, as extraction may be necessary.

"The Riata heart defibrillators were sold nationwide," said Ross Cellino. "If any consumers impacted by this product recall have further questions, please visit our website or give us a call. We would be pleased to assist."

Cellino & Barnes is a New York personal injury law firm, with offices in Buffalo, Rochester, Manhattan, Garden City and Melville (Long Island) New York. Cellino & Barnes focuses strictly on personal injury cases, including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, construction accidents, product liability and more.