Spickes v. Medtronic, Inc.

George Rose Smith, Justice.

This products liability case is within our jurisdiction under Rule 29 (1) (m). In 1975 a cardiac pacemaker, manufactured by the appellee Medtronic, was inserted in the body of the principal plaintiff, Ernest Eugene Spickes. In 1977 the device proved to be defective, causing Spickes’s heartbeat to acelérate. On October 5, 1977, the device was surgically removed and a substitute pacemaker, also made by Medtronic, was inserted in its place. There is no complaint about the performance of the replacement.

On October 28, 1980, more than three years after the surgery,…