St. Jude ICD Class Action Settlement
What is this Class Action About?
In 2017, a class action was commenced by Shirley Houle and Roland Houle of Port Hope, Ontario, (the Representative Plaintiffs) against St. Jude Medical, Inc. and St. Jude Medical Canada, Inc. (together, “St. Jude” or the “Defendants”), in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The settlement does not constitute an admission of liability, but represents a negotiated compromise of disputed allegations and claims.
In the action, the Plaintiffs assert that the batteries in certain models of Defibrillators that were manufactured by the Defendants between January 2010 and May 23, 2015 were faulty as they were subject to forming lithium clusters that could cause the batteries to prematurely deplete, and that the Defendants allegedly failed to warn the Class about this defect in a timely manner.
On August 1, 2019 the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved the settlement.
St. Jude has agreed to pay the all-inclusive amount of $5,000,000 CAD (the “Settlement Fund”) to settle the class action, in return for releases and a dismissal of the class action. The Settlement Fund includes $750,000 CAD for court costs, which will be allocated towards Class Counsel’s legal fees. The Court has approved payment of Class Counsel’s legal fees and disbursements inclusive of HST in the amount of $1,371,675.00. The fees are 27% of the Settlement Amount, exclusive of the court costs paid by St. Jude. These amounts will be deducted from the Settlement Fund.
Who can receive payment under this class action?
Patient Class Members
Patient Class Members are all persons who are resident in Canada and were implanted in Canada with one or more of the Defibrillators listed on the Patient Claim Form.
Derivative Class Members
Derivative Class Members are close family members of Patient Class Members such as a spouse, children, grandchildren, parents or grandparents.
All Derivative Class Members have the right to make claims for their own out of pocket expenses that were incurred because of actions taken in response to the Health Canada Advisory published on October 10, 2016.
Only the spouse and minor children, or if there is no spouse or minor children, then adult children or parents of deceased Patient Class Members may claim death benefits if the Patient Class Member died and the death was caused by the lithium cluster issues, but only if they meet the required criteria set out in the Derivative Class Member Claim Form.
What type of payment or benefit may you be eligible for?
| Patient Class Member | Derivative Class Member | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Implanted prior to December 1, 2013 | Implanted on or after December 1, 2013 | (Dependents of Patient Class Member) | ||
Out of Pocket Expense Claims that total more than $100.00 CAD in the aggregate (up to $500.00 CAD per member) * Must be expenses related to actions taken in response to the receipt of the St. Jude advisory released on October 10, 2016, including but not limited to additional clinic attendances, hospital visits or surgery | ||||
| Death of Patient Class Member caused or contributed to by premature battery depletion where the battery depletion occurred earlier than expected based on the Defibrillator usage and there was no indication that the depletion was related to a cause other than a short circuit that may have been due to the formation of lithium clusters * | $60,000.00 CAD to spouse of deceased Patient Class Member | |||
| $45,000.00 CAD to each minor of deceased Patient Class Member | ||||
| $20,000.00 CAD to each adult child or parent of deceased Patient Class Member (if there is no spouse or minor) | ||||
| Eligible Non Explant Claimant | A payment on a pro-rata basis up to $100.00 CAD per member (“Failure to warn compensation”) | A payment on a pro-rata basis up to $500.00 CAD per member (“Failure to warn compensation”) | ||
| Eligible Explant Claimant | Pro-rata payment amount from the Explant Pool that depends upon a number of factors, including the total number of Eligible Explant Claimants, who experienced complications arising from explant surgery, and the total number of valid claims (Estimated at approximately $1,652.00 CAD per Eligible Explant Claimant) | |||
| Complications arising from explant surgery* | $1,000.00 CAD for same day treatment (includes prescription of medications to treat complication) | |||
| $5,000.00 CAD for 1-3 days of hospitalization | ||||
| $12,500.00 CAD for more than 3 days of hospitalization | ||||
* Payment or Benefit comes out of the Extraordinary Injury Fund
Summary of Your Legal Rights and Options
| Submit a Claim | The only way to receive any of the benefits under the Settlement was to submit a Claim. The deadline to submit a claim for benefits was 11:59 pm EST on January 10, 2020. |
|---|---|
| Do Nothing | If you do nothing, you automatically remain a Class Member (if you qualify) and you will be legally bound by all orders and judgments of the Court, including a release to be granted in favor of St. Jude, and you will not be able to sue St. Jude regarding the legal claims made in this case. |
| OBJECT to the Settlement | The deadline to object to the proposed Settlement was July 29, 2019. |
| OPT OUT of the Settlement | The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement was July 19, 2019. |