Consumer Law

Oops! Medtronic Did it (Yet) Again!

By Andy Hoffman

Several weeks ago, we told you about a Walter Reed surgeon named Timothy Kuklo who was on Medtronic?s payroll when he published a ?study? that made false claims and grossly inflated the benefits of the company?s bone-growth product, ?Infuse,? in treating wounded soldiers in Iraq.  Medical device companies like Medtronic, you will recall, recently received a unprecented gift from the U.S. Supreme Court - immunity from liability for its most dangerous implants - which the U.S. Congress is now trying to fix.

Since our earlier story about Dr. Kuklo, at the urging of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Medtronic has disclosed that it paid upwards of $800,000 for Dr. Kuklo?s unique ?services.?  And today, the New York Times is reporting that the Justice Department has subpoenaed Medtronic to procure even more info about its ties with the dissembling doc.

The Times also reported that  ?the new subpoena comes as the Justice Department and Senator Grassley continue to investigate whether Medtronic violated any federal rules by promoting unapproved uses of Infuse.? Stay tuned!

Full post as published by ThePopTort on June 24, 2009 (boomark / email).