Abbott Heart Stent Lawsuit Proceeds in Mass. Federal Court on Manufacturing Defect Theory

BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge has allowed a lawsuit targeting Abbott Vascular Inc.’s Graftmaster stent system to proceed on a manufacturing defect theory, ruling the plaintiff’s claim is not preempted because he pled a parallel claim by alleging a violation of the FDA’s Current Good Manufacturing Practices.

However, in the March 18 order, Judge Timothy S. Hillman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts dismissed the failure to warn and design defect claims, ruling they are preempted by federal law and inadequately pled.

Malaiperuma Sundaramurthy had a heart attack in June 2018 and doctors inserted a …