'Parallel' Failure-To-Warn Claim not Preempted, 9th Circuit Rules

SAN FRANCISCO – A state law failure-to-warn claim accusing Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) of failing to warn the FDA of any adverse health consequences associated with its pain pump and catheter are not federally preempted, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled.

The appellate court, sitting en banc, held Jan. 10 that the claim would impose a state law duty parallels a federal law duty under the MDA and is therefore not preempted.

In a suit originally filed in the Pima County (Ariz.) Superior Court, Richard and Mary Lou Stengel alleged that a Medtronic SynchroMed EL Pump and Intrathecal …