A Washington state jury awarded $40.1 million late Monday to a man whose heart was damaged by a malfunctioning monitor made by Irvine-based Edwards Lifesciences Corp.
Paramijit Singh, a 54-year-old of Mount Vernon, Wash. received the award after the Snohomish Superior Court jury heard five weeks of testimony and argument. The award included $8.35 million in punitive damages.
Edwards, the leading maker of heart valves and related products, said it didn’t believe the punitive damage award would hold up on appeal.
“This was the only reported injury related to millions of uses of this device and the problem that has caused the issue has been rectified,” Edwards said.
Edwards said Singh should be fairly compensated, but awarding punitive damages “is contrary to the facts and the law and we have strong grounds for appeal,” the device maker said.
Singh checked into Providence Everett Medical Center in 2004 for cardiac bypass surgery when a monitor made by Edwards malfunctioned, causing a catheter to overheat and burn his heart, said Paul Luvera, one of Singh’s lawyers, in a statement.
Edwards, which had blamed Providence Everett and said the hospital used a damaged cable, also was ordered to pay the hospital $310,000 in damages.
