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Medical Device Litigation: Federal Court in Minnesota Separates Medical Product Liability Claims Against Medical Device Manufacturer From Medical Malpractice Claims Against Medical Facilities

1/17/14

By: Michael Eshman  

In In re Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, multi-district litigation (“MDL”) involving Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II Hip Implant Products, the federal district court in Minnesota handling the MDL recently severed one plaintiff’s medical malpractice claims against California medical facilities and his product liability claims against the hip implant manufacturer defendants.  In severing the claims, the court found, “[t]he joinder of any malpractice, negligence, or misrepresentation claim against the Hospital Defendants with the other product liability claims (that are properly asserted against the device manufacturer) is inappropriate because the claims do not involve common questions of law or fact and assert joint, several, or alternative liability “arising out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences.”   The court’s ruling allowed the product liability claims against the hip implant manufacturer defendants to proceed in federal court, while the medical malpractice action against the hospital defendants was remanded to state court in California.
In light of this ruling, even if a claim appears superficially to defeat diversity jurisdiction, medical device manufacturers may still have proper grounds to move for removal of the case against it to federal court.
If you have any questions about this case or the handling of your medical device and/or medical malpractice case, don’t hesitate to contact any of the attorneys on our Healthcare Litigation and Medical Device Litigation teams.