Abbott Subsidiary to Pay $27 Million for Defective Heart Devices

A medical device maker acquired by Abbott Laboratories in 2017 will pay $27 million over allegations it sold implantable heart devices it knew were defective, the Justice Department said.

St. Jude Medical Inc. failed to disclose battery problems in several models of implantable defibrillators it sold for patients at risk of cardiac arrest due to an irregular heartbeat, the DOJ said in a Thursday statement.

The devices are surgically implanted into patients’ chests, and when the devices detect an irregular heartbeat, they send an electrical pulse to shock the heart back to its normal rhythm. The government alleged that by ...