Zoll Medical Fails to Exit Wearable Defibrillator Death Suit

Zoll Medical Corp. must face a widow’s suit alleging a flawed wearable defibrillator vest caused her husband’s death, as a Tennessee federal court said she gave enough detail to support her product liability claims, and federal medical device law doesn’t preempt them.

Doris Smith’s allegations over Zoll’s LifeVest meet the federal pleading requirements, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee said Tuesday.

Claims concerning medical devices like the LifeVest, which underwent the Food and Drug Administration’s premarket approval process, are generally barred by federal law that expressly preempts state requirements different from or in addition to federal ...