NATICK, Mass. (AP) — Boston Scientific Corp. said Thursday that three of its subsidiaries agreed to pay $16.75 million and extend the warranty on some of its heart devices as part of a settlement with state attorneys general.
The affected devices were manufactured by Indianapolis-based Guidant Corp., which Boston Scientific acquired last year. A Boston Scientific spokeswoman said these defibrillators had been recalled during the past two years due to the possibility of malfunction.
Guidant Corp., Cardiac Pacemakers Inc. and Guidant Sales Corp. will pay a total of $16.75 million and admit no liability, under the terms of the agreement, according to a Boston Scientific statement. The agreement was reached with the attorneys general of 35 states and the District of Columbia.
The district's share of the settlement is $390,000, which D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer said will be used to fund consumer education and continued enforcement of the district's consumer protection laws.
The subsidiaries also agreed to extend the supplemental warranty program for these devices by an additional six months and reaffirmed their commitment to implement changes recommended by a panel commissioned by Guidant in 2005.
The agreement is associated with Guidant's Ventak Prizm 2DR Model 1861, Contak Renewal Model H135 and Contak Renewal 2 Model H155 devices.
Since June 2005, Guidant has issued safety warnings or recalled more than 88,000 defibrillators and has recalled or issued warnings on about 200,000 pacemakers.
Shares of Boston Scientific fell 16 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $12.69 Thursday.