Defective Depuy Hip Replacement Lawyers
If you have suffered with a defective Depuy hip replacement please contact our medical defect device lawyer. We can review your case free of charge and if we take your case and don't win, you wont pay.
Not so long ago, alleging that Johnson & Johnson was responsible for dangerous defective products, such as their defective hip replacement implants, would have been unbelievable.
Many parents, including myself, trusted Johnson & Johnson to produce safe and reliable products that could be used on ourselves as well as our children, with peace of mind that you rarely find nowadays.
Unfortunately, consumers have been burnt once again. Many of those who used these defective products are left relatively unharmed, but others are not as lucky. Having seen product manufacturers put profit over safety time after time, this particular transgression is heartbreaking to witness when it comes from a company that was universally trusted.
What Went Wrong With the Depuy Hip Replacements?
It has been over two years since Johnson & Johnson received their first complaint regarding this defective product, and only a few months since they issued a full recall. On August 26, 2010, DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, issued the voluntary recall of its ASR XL Acetabular System and ASR Hip Resurfacing System. Shortly after, DePuy Orthopaedic's president issued the following statement: "We regret that this recall will be concerning for patients, their family members, and surgeons. We are committed to assisting patients and health care providers by providing information through multiple channels and paying for the cost of doctor visits, tests, and procedures associated with the recall."
Unfortunately, it seems as though Johnson & Johnson/DePuy had been previously aware of these product defects. In December of 2009, DePuy withdrew several ASR units and reported that they would do so globally in 2010.
In March of 2006, DePuy had issued letters to doctors warning them that the ASR units were more likely to fail, depending on the patient. Depuy stated that smaller patients, such as women and those with weak bones, had a higher likelihood of the unit failing. This did not stop DePuy from marketing the product worldwide until the full recall.
Defective Product Symptoms Associated with Depuy
If you think that you may be suffering from a defective ASR device, contacting your physician is essential. Johnson & Johnson is claiming to take care of all expenses that result from this defective product, although it is unknown how reliable that statement is. Taking care of your health should be your number one priority. For those that have the defective ASR device, it is very common to undergo revision surgery because the device can deteriorate and fail completely. Experiencing any of the following symptoms could be a sign that your unit is defective.
- Swelling
- Thigh or groin pain
- Hip pain
- Sharp pain while walking
- Pain when rising from a chair
- Pain while carrying objects
If you or a loved one has a defective ASR unit, call our products liability attorneys for a free professional evaluation of your case by attorneys who have represented over 12,000 clients since 1978. You will experience award winning representation and outstanding personal service by a friendly law firm in a comfortable environment. Call 949-203-3814 to speak with one of our Depuy lawyers.
DePuy Hip Replacement Recall -- They Knew it was a Failed Product
Call it emotion, greed, opportunity or a gamble gone bad, an executive email from Johnson & Johnson belied the fact that the company knew the product would fail prematurely in significant numbers.
An entire year before recalling the artificial hip, an executive at Johnson & Johnson reported in an internal e-mail that the Food and Drug Administration had refused to approve the device. Their reasoning, plain and simple, was that company studies showed failed prematurely in "significant" numbers, requiring repeat surgeries for patients.
During the eight years the DePuy A.S.R. artificial hip was on the market, it was used in an estimated 93,000 people globally. A related device that did pass scrutiny in the U.S. was used in domestically in 30,000 patients. Both items are now in full recall after mass, short term post-surgical failures.
The e-mail at issue was written in August 2009 by a vice president of Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, DePuy Orthopaedics, just days after the F.D.A. confidentially notified the device maker that it would not approve one version of the hip for sale in this country. In the e-mail, the executive, Pamela Plouhar, explained the reasons for the agency's decision to three other top executives, including DePuy's president at the time, David Floyd.
DePuy does not appear to have violated any laws by not publicly releasing the F.D.A. ruling, which was contained in a so-called nonapprovable letter. The F.D.A., as a matter of policy, does not release such decisions, saying that they may contain confidential business information.
However, on a grander scale of things, DePuy's decision not to publicize the agency's findings to doctors, patients and others while continuing to market the device and profit by it globally, may undercut its defense in the over 5,000 related lawsuits pending against it.
