Spinal Pain Pump Claims Against St. Jude, Medtronic Preempted, Fla. Federal Judge Rules

TAMPA, Fla. — Claims asserted against St. Jude Medical and Medtronic Inc. in connection with their spinal pain pumps are federally preempted because they seek to impose state law requirements that are “different from, or in addition to” federal requirements, a Florida federal judge has ruled.

On March 30, Judge Cheri Polster Chappell of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida rejected the plaintiff’s assertion that his claims “parallel,” rather than add to, federal requirements.

In May 2011, Daniel Jackson had a St. Jude Eon Mini Neurostimulation System surgically implanted in his spine to help manage …