Quick Recap on Lawsuits Against DePuy

Hip replacement surgeries became controversial due to defective hip prostheses like the ones manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. DePuy is a subsidiary company of Johnson & Johnson (J&J). DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. is recently being charged with various lawsuits filed by law firms in UK, US and Australia, in behalf of patients who underwent hip replacement operations.  It is possible that the hip replacement lawsuit statute of limitations will run out. Statutes of limitations are designed to ensure that claims are filed promptly and that parties do not have to litigate issues based on old documents and potentially faulty memories.

There are around 98,000 recipients, including 37,000 in the US alone, of the ASR XL Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System worldwide. After the release of data presenting that these devices fail prematurely in one out of eight patients, the two devices were recalled. The manufacturing and marketing of these two devices started in 2003.

The Australian marketed DePuy devices were pulled off in December 2009. The global recall of these products was announced in August 2010.

On January 26, 2011, U.S. District Judge David A. Katz in Toledo, Ohio, appointed the claimants’ executive committee after dozens of lawyers vied for the positions of leading federal litigation against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) over recalled devices used in hip-replacement surgeries. This was reported by Bloomberg. The claimants were the ones affected by the failures and defects (e.g. fractures, displacements, loosening) of DePuy devices.

As of March 31, 2011, Johnson and Johnson had committed $280 million as a response to the recalls. The company also pledged to “address reasonable and customary costs associated with testing and treatment,” including new hips for those who need them.

The symptoms of a defective hip implant are swelling, pain bearing weight, pain when rising from a seated position, pain while walking, pain on the thigh or groin area, and pain on the hip area.

Even in the absence of any of these hip replacement symptoms, one should see a doctor for a check-up for regular assessment. With DePuy hip replacement lawsuit piling up globally, DePuy should pay attention to these the hip replacement problems experienced by its patients. It should circulate a wide range of information regarding malfunctioning hip replacement symptoms so that clients may be provided with due medical attention. To avoid much adverse effects, hip replacement problems should be dealt with immediately.

References:

• bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-03/johnson-johnson-sued-over-recalled-implanted-hip-replacement-devices.html
• arthritistoday.org/news/asr-depuy-hip-replacement-recall078.php
• nursinghomesabuseblog.com/defective-products/defects-with-depuy-hip-replacement-hardware-may-be-responsible-for-complications-following-hip-surgury/

Johnson & Johnson Hires Own Compensation Recall Company

When DePuy Orthopaedics and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), initiated the hip replacement recall, it crafted a compensation program that would reimburse hip recipients for the “reasonable and customary” costs associated with another surgery. Thus, Johnson& Johnson employed Broadspire Services, a subsidiary of insurance agency Crawford & Crawford.

The New York Times, on December 27, 2011, published an article about the reimbursement regulations of DePuy, Johnson & Johnson and Broadspire. The article reports that “things were not going smoothly for everyone who has had accepted DePuy’s payment offer.”

With approximately 93,000 recipients worldwide, the ASR XL Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System were recalled after data revealed that the devices fail prematurely in one out of eight people who have them.

“It is a complete untruth that DePuy did not have reason to withdraw the ASR before now; we have been telling them since 2007, but they allowed it to be used on thousands of people,” says Dr. Stephen Graves, the director of the National Joint Replacement Registry in Australia.

“We believe we made the appropriate decision to recall at the appropriate time given the available information,” states DePuy spokeswoman, Mindy Tinsley.

Johnson & Johnson had pledged a total of $280 million in compensatory claims to the recalls, as of March 31, 2011. The company further guaranteed to “address reasonable and customary costs associated with testing and treatment.” The metal particles shed from metal-on-metal hip replacement implants may increase the amount of some metals in the blood, such as chromium and cobalt. This may cause metallosis (blood poisoning) and genotoxicity (genetic damage). Furthermore, tumors and cancer may also arise because of cobalt and chromium in the patient’s blood.

In May 2011, different engineers and medical experts created a registry tasked to track hip and knee implants, after the issuance of DePuy hip replacement recall.

” The goal is to track the more than 700,000 total hip and knee replacement surgeries that take place in the U.S. each year and, over time, record which implants failed prematurely, requiring revision surgery to fix the original operation,” David Lewallen said. He is the AJRRchairman and a professor of orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

The hip replacement recall positively urged the manufacturer to take an action on the need of the public for safe medical services and products. With the number of duly filed DePuy lawsuit increasing worldwide, DePuy should properly face the hip replacement problems encountered by its clients. It should circulate a wide range of information regarding malfunctioning hip replacement symptoms so that its patrons would be provided with due medical attention.

References:

• nytimes.com/2011/12/28/business/the-high-cost-of-failing-artificial-hips.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all

• medicinenet.com/total_hip_replacement/article.htm

• nytimes.com/2010/03/04/health/04metalhip.html