ST. LOUIS (CN) - The 8th Circuit reversed certification of a nationwide class of patients implanted with faulty Silzone prosthetic heart valves on the grounds that the case presented too many individual differences to be tried as a class action.
"This case exemplifies the difficulty with class treatment of cases alleging fraud or misrepresentation," the court wrote, because each patient and treating doctor learned about the bad valves in different ways.
Studies have shown that the Silzone valve, made by St. Jude Medical Inc., increases the risk of paravalvular leakage.
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