What are chances that my Guidant defibrillator will fail? It is estimated that there are 29,000 units in question. Out of those, there have been 45 reported failures and at least two deasths linked to units. If no other failures occur, that would mean that 1 out of 15,000 could result in death, and 1 out of 650 could fail. If more reports come in, failure rate would turn out to be higher.

Should I replace my Guidant defibrillator? You should immediately consult with your physician to determine if your model is part of recall, if your defibrillator is defective, and whether risk of surgery is better than risk of keeping your defective Guidant defibrillator unit.

Are there any lawsuits or class actions being filed? Yes. There are a number of lawfirms that are investigating these cases. Lawsuits have already been filed against Guidant.

Monheit Law is investigating cases involving Guidant defibrillators. Users of this defibrillator can contact Monheit Law at http://www.monheit.com/guidant-defibrillator-recall

You can also get help from lawyer referral services. You can find a list of lawyer referral services in your yellow book under "Lawyers", "Attorneys" or "Attorney Referral Services", or you can search them on Internet. These services usually charge you a fee but some services might allow you talk to a lawyer without any charge.

In addition, you might come across advertisements from attorneys or law firms. Just like dealing with other type of advertisements, you should be careful and don't trust advertisement too much.

Beside resources mentioned above, there are a number of other options to find a lawyer, such as looking at phone book or doing web search, etc. Don't settle down with first lawyer that you come across. Make sure to interview a few attorneys before you make your final decision.