Illinois Appellate Court Affirms Dismissal of SynchroMed Lawsuit

On June 14, 2018, the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, affirmed a lower court order dismissing all claims against Medtronic based on federal preemption. In a Complaint filed in August 2016, Plaintiff asserted that Medtronic’s premarket-approved SynchroMed^® II malfunctioned and caused her injury. The Circuit Court of Cook County granted Medtronic’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s claims against Medtronic with prejudice in August 2017. Following briefing on appeal, the First District Appellate Court affirmed the lower court’s holding that Plaintiff’s design-defect and manufacturing-defect claims are preempted by federal law, and also held that her claim of negligent instruction is not cognizable under Illinois law. The Court’s ruling resulted in a complete victory for Medtronic. Representing Medtronic from Goldman Ismail were Tarek Ismail, Joe Tomaselli, and Rami Fakhouri. The case is Benyak v. Medtronic, Inc. et al., No. 1-17-2147 (Ill. App. Ct.)