Boston Scientific, Guidant to pay $30M settlement

The Justice Department says Boston Scientific Corp. and its Guidant subsidiaries will pay $30 million to settle allegations that Guidant knowingly sold defective heart devices that health care facilities implanted in Medicare patients from 2002 to 2005.

Boston Scientific is headquartered in Natick, Mass., and acquired Guidant in 2006.

The Justice Department says that while Guidant took corrective action to fix the defects, the company continued selling its remaining stock of defective versions of the devices. In addition, the government alleged that as Guidant learned about the cause of the defect, it took steps to hide the problem from patients, doctors and the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates medical devices.

The devices are implantable defibrillators used in patients at risk of cardiac arrest due to an irregular heartbeat.