Medtronic Awarded Summary Judgment on Defective Construction Claim in Cervical Plate Action

MONROE, La. — A Louisiana federal magistrate judge has awarded Medtronic Sofamor Danek USA summary judgment on a defective construction claim in a cervical plate action, ruling that the plaintiff cannot rely on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitor because he failed to exclude inference of his own responsibility or the responsibility of others in causing his injuries.

In a March 23 order, Magistrate Judge Robert G. James of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana noted that the plaintiff’s expert cannot identify the cause of the shifting or misalignment of the plate. As such, the plaintiff …