U.S. Surgical chairman catches flak

Shareholders of U.S. Surgical Corp. berated Chairman Leon C. Hirsch yesterday for taking a bonus last year, when the company lost money.

Some angry shareholders at U.S. Surgical's annual meeting asked Mr. Hirsch how he could justify taking any bonus at all, let alone the more than $561,000 in bonuses he received.

Mr. Hirsch said his overall compensation fell last year, to $1.6 million from $2.2 million in 1992. But his base pay rose to $1.02 million from $987,000.

The company's stock has fallen from $130 a share two years ago to just over $17.

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