Richard Stengel v. Medtronic Incorporated

Opinion by Judge W. FLETCHER; Concurrence by Judge WATFORD.

*1226OPINION

W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiffs Richard and Mary Lou Stengel sued Medtronic under state law when a medical device manufactured by Medtronic rendered Richard permanently paraplegic. Medtronic moved to dismiss the Stengels’ complaint, contending that the Medical Device Amendments (“MDA”) to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”) preempted their state-law claims. The Stengels moved to amend their complaint to add a new state-law negligence claim. That claim alleged that Medtronic had violated a state-law duty of care by…