Spine Stimulator Injury Lawyers Seek Leadership Roles in Boston Scientific MDL

Attorneys will meet with the judge for the initial scheduling conference in early August to set up the organizational structure of the litigation.

As the U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal Boston Scientific spinal cord stimulator lawsuits continues to establish procedures for the recently formed multidistrict litigation (MDL), plaintiffs’ attorneys have proposed an organizational leadership structure they say would help serve all individuals with pending claims.

The medical device manufacturer currently faces a growing number of product liability lawsuits over its line of spinal cord stimulators, which were marketed as a treatment for chronic pain. The implants use mild pulses of electricity to disrupt pain signals on the way to the brain, consisting of electrodes and a battery-powered pulse generator implanted under the skin and near the spine, as well as a remote control for adjusting stimulation levels.

However, claims have been filed over problems with Boston Scientific’s WaveWriter Alpha, Precision Montage and Spectra WaveWriter models. Recipients of the spinal cord stimulators often indicate the pain relief either never came or did not last. Additionally, many report the implants, which are supposed to be permanent, caused unnecessary electric shocks or otherwise malfunctioned, often resulting in the need for revision surgery. In some cases, the electrodes or the pulse generator migrated out of position and protruded out of the skin.

Separate spinal cord stimulator lawsuits have also been filed against Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic and Nevro, although those claims are not included in the recently formed Boston Scientific MDL. The complaints raise similar allegations that the manufacturers relied on the FDA’s substantial-equivalence clearance process to introduce the devices and later made significant design changes without adequate clinical testing or regulatory review.

Boston Scientific Spinal Cord Stimulator MDL

In early June, following a request by plaintiffs, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) ordered all Boston Scientific spinal cord stimulators consolidated into an MDL in the Central District of California, where U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton will oversee coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Judge Staton has set an initial scheduling conference for August 5, 2026, where she is expected to address the leadership structure and the appointment of Plaintiffs’ Lead Counsel. Such appointments involve selecting several plaintiffs’ attorneys to serve in MDL leadership roles and represent the interests of everyone with a pending claim. This structure is common in mass tort litigation, helping ensure plaintiffs are represented consistently while channeling key information and decisions through a small group of lawyers rather than every firm involved nationwide.

The judge also called for all plaintiffs’ counsel to meet on July 24 to propose a leadership structure for the MDL. On that day, attorneys submitted a plaintiffs’ organization of counsel report (PDF), detailing their proposed leadership plan.

The plan calls for three attorneys appointed to serve as co-lead counsel: one liaison counsel, who would also be a member of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, a Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee and a Leadership Development Committee.

The deadline for applications for plaintiffs lead and liaison counsel positions was July 24. In addition to announcing leadership positions at the August scheduling conference, Judge Staton indicates the conference will also cover any outstanding motions, preliminary case management issues, set a schedule of regular status conferences, and address any other issues “requiring prompt resolution.”

On the same date, the parties submitted a joint preliminary report (PDF) laying out legal positions and the status of the litigation. The FDA, which contributed to the report and has been named as a defendant in several claims, asked to be dismissed from the lawsuit, arguing that the litigation should solely be between the plaintiffs and Boston Scientific.

Spinal Cord Stimulator Lawsuits

Like Boston Scientific, Abbott Laboratories and Nevro also face an increasing number of spinal cord stimulator lawsuits, which has led to separate requests for two additional MDLs based on claims against those manufacturers.

The request for an Abbott spinal cord stimulator MDL was filed by two plaintiffs on June 2 and another petition was filed seeking similar consolidation for federal Nevro spinal cord stimulator lawsuits. Both requests seek to have the cases assigned to the Central District of California alongside the Boston Scientific claims.

If the JPML approves the consolidations, the courts would coordinate discovery and pretrial proceedings and then likely begin a process of selecting representative cases for early bellwether trials.

The outcomes of those trials would not be binding on other claims, but could help provide the parties with a basis for spinal cord stimulator settlement negotiations.

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