Tenn. Judge Refuses to Strike Medtronic’s Defenses in Gastric Bypass Device Case

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee federal magistrate judge has refused to strike comparative fault affirmative defenses levied by Medtronic in a case involving its gastric bypass device, ruling that the plaintiffs sufficiently identify their surgeon to be a superseding cause of their injuries.

In a Nov. 26 order, Magistrate Judge Alistair Newbern of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee further ruled that the affirmative defenses were pled with enough specificity to trigger the limitations period for the plaintiffs to add the surgeon as a defendant.

Dr. James G. McDowell performed a laparoscopic gastric bypass procedure …