Boston Scientific has agreed to pay $30 million to settle allegations that its subsidiary, Guidant, knowingly sold defective pacemakers that were implanted into Medicare patients. According to the government, some devices sold by Guidant contained a defect that caused the device to shock itself rather than the patient’s heart; such a shock would cause the pacemakers to short circuit. The government alleged that Guidant continued to sell off its stock of defective pacemakers, even after it had discovered and fixed the defect in new devices. These devices allegedly made their way into patients.

The allegations were brought to light by James Allen, a patient who received one of Guidant’s defective devices. As a reward for bringing the information to the government’s attention, Mr. Allen will receive $2.25 million.

Read the entire article, “Boston Scientific to Pay $30 Million to Settle False Claims Act Charge”