H-P, Agilent settle Fed claim of faulty medical equipment - News Wire

Healthcare Purchasing News, Sept, 2002

Hewlett-Packard Co. and Agilent Technologies have agreed to pay $7 million to settle claims made by the U.S. government that the companies sold faulty medical equipment. The government claimed that Hewlett-Packard sold it faulty patient monitors, anesthesia gas modules and oxygen monitors from January 1991 to July 1997, and then failed to comply with federal regulations requiring the company to investigate and document equipment failures.

The settlement amount is based upon a $5,000 to $10,000 penalty for the claims submitted for these products to the government during the designated time periods. Hewlett-Packard spun off certain portions of its business, including its medical products division, to become Agilent in November 1999, and subsequently sold the medical products group in 2001.