Medtronic – Manufacturer of MinMed Insulin Pumps – Loses Appeal: Litigation Continues

Publish Date : 10/16/2025

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Medtronic, the world’s largest medical device company, lost another key legal battle this week against Cowper Law.

The lawsuits center on Medtronic’s MiniMed 600-series insulin pumps, medical devices used by people with diabetes to automatically deliver insulin. In February 2020, the FDA issued a Class 1 Recall of the product, most serious category, after reports a faulty retainer ring could cause the pumps to deliver too much or too little insulin, leading to severe injury or even death.

Thousands of users have since come forward, claiming Medtronic knew about the design defects long before the recall, and failed to warn patients or doctors. The ongoing litigation seeks to hold Medtronic accountable for these alleged failures by recovering damages for those harmed by the defective pumps.

In July 2025, Medtronic filed several motions to try to end, or split up, cases involving the recalled MiniMed 600-series insulin pumps. The company asked the court to dismiss the cases based on “preemption,” to apply other states’ laws instead of California’s, and to separate the three lawsuits into different trials.

Attorney Moze Cowper argued the cases should stay together and be tried under California law, since Medtronic is based in California and California is where the alleged wrongdoing occurred. Judge Berle of the Los Angeles Superior Court agreed, rejecting Medtronic’s arguments and setting the case for trial on August 11, 2025.

Not satisfied with the outcome, Medtronic filed an appeal, asking a higher court to overturn Judge Berle’s decision. But on October 14, 2025, the California Court of Appeal denied the request, again siding with Cowper and the plaintiffs.

In its ruling, the Court found Medtronic had not shown any legal error or abuse of discretion by the trial judge. The decision means all three cases will move forward together toward trial.

A new trial date be requested immediately. The appeal was filed under Case No. B348034 — Medtronic MiniMed, Inc. et al. v. Superior Court Los Angeles County et al.

This latest victory marks another major step forward for patients and families seeking accountability for injuries caused by the recalled MiniMed insulin pumps — and another defeat for Medtronic’s efforts to avoid facing justice.