Guidant: 2,500 May Seek Damages 02/23/2006 - INDIANAPOLIS -- Guidant Corp. said as many as 2,500 patients may seek damages following last year's recall of 109,000 implantable defibrillators linked to at least seven deaths. Guidant, the second-largest maker of the devices that correct abnormal heart rhythms, said in a filing Wednesday that it learned last month of about 1,700 claims and expects more. Those claims are distinct from patients already participating in 211 individual and class-action lawsuits in the U.S. and Canada, the company said. Indianapolis-based Guidant didn't estimate settlement costs in the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It had a $113 million charge in last year's second quarter for the cost of replacing recalled defibrillators. "This is standard stuff, and the numbers don't blow me away," said Dhulsini de Zoysa, an analyst with S.G. Cowen and Co. in New York. "I certainly expect there to be dozens, if not hundreds, of patients who come forward. It's premature to try to predict the ultimate disposition of the cases." (Bloomberg)