Ill. Appeals Court Finds in Favor of Medtronic in Medication Pump Case

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — An Illinois appellate court has found in favor of Medtronic in a SynchroMed II medication pump wrongful death case, affirming that the failure-to-warn claim is preempted because it is based upon instructions in the device’s label, which had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

In a June 3 order, the Illinois Appellate Court, 4th District, further found Medtronic is not liable for failing to make technical recommendations to the decedent’s doctors because its employee fulfilled her duty to ensure the pump was in good working order.

When he was 17, Donald Cleeton sustained a …