Jury Awards Mount Vernon Man $40.1 Million After Medical Device C...( They had the courage to do the right th...),Health

Singh was admitted to Providence Everett Medical Center to undergo cardiac bypass surgery. During the operation, surgeons monitored Singh with Edwards' Vigilance I Monitor and placed several catheters in his heart tissue.

When the physician could not remove a catheter from Singh's heart, he made an incision and found a piece of the catheter was "burned to a crisp" and the heart tissue around it was charred. He was unable to re-start Singh's heart.

Providence Hospital -- which also sued Edwards -- worked diligently to help Singh and his family, Luvera noted.

Providence arranged for Singh to be transferred to University of Washington Medical Center where he was put on a mechanical heart device and kept in a chemically induced coma for several weeks until he could receive a heart transplant. Providence paid for all the medical procedures.

According to Kathy Cochran, attorney for Providence, the hospital performed professionally and according to the protocols they were given by Edwards in the operation of the monitor.

After the device caused extensive damage to Singh's heart, it was the surgery team's expertise that saved his life, she noted.

"While it's sad that Edwards Lifesciences didn't just step up to the fact that its product was faulty, it is a relief that after more than three years of investigation and discovery, we are now vindicated by the jury's decision," Cochran said. "And most importantly, Mr. Singh and his family will have justice and compensation for the catastrophic injuries they experienced."

According to court documents, Edwards first became aware of a software bug in its monitors back in 1998, but ignored internal recommendation
'/>"/>