Drug Recall Lawyer Blog

DePuy's president resigned yesterday. What does this mean for settlement of the DePuy hip replacement lawsuits?

My question is: who replaces him? If it is someone outside of DePuy, it increases the likelihood the DePuy hip lawsuits settle faster. Why? It is always easier to accept the pain that comes with settling cases when you were not the person on the line making the decisions that caused the problems in the first place. Would a new DePuy president from outside of the company - outside DePuy, not necessarily J&J - be more inclined to pay a reasonable settlement value on the thousands of hip implant cases that are out there? Of course.

Continue reading "DePuy Hip Replacement Settlements: Good News?" »

The best DePuy hip replacement lawsuits are going to be those cases where a DePuy ASR replacement came shortly before the recall. The F.D.A. has received hundreds of complaints about the failure rate on the ASR replacement. Even setting aside the "why did you put this thing on the market in the first place" argument, it seems abundantly clear that when the handwriting was on the wall that these hip replacements were lemons, DePuy decided to keep them on the market hoping against hope that the tidal wave of information that their hip replacements were causing patients all sorts of problems would miraculously go away. When I was a kid, I foolishly tried this strategy with parking tickets, hoping that putting them deeply enough into my glove box, would make them go away. That was stupid but relatively harmless. In this case, people who are already compromised - they need a hip replacement for crying out loud - were allowed to get a hip replacement that DePuy at some point knew was an inferior choice to others on the market.

DePuy needs to pay a lot of money in all of these ASR hip replacement cases. But the highest settlements in these cases, in my opinion, will be for those who got these replacements late in the game.

If you believe you may have a potential DePuy hip implant lawsuit, our lawyers are now investigating these claims. Call 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation. Depuy demandas en Espanol aqui.

History tells us that it is not the crime but the cover-up that often causes the most damage. In drug and medical device cases, there is usually a Nixonian leitmotif: what did you know and when did you know it with respect to the potential harm caused by the drug.

Last month, another DePuy class action lawsuit was filed. The claim is an interesting cover-up allegation. The class action claims that after the DePuy ASR recall, the company deceived patients by agreeing to make things right and in exchange, getting access to hip recall victims' medical records. Of course, making things right is relative. DePuy has essentially promised victims nothing in exchange for something, which is the essence of this class action lawsuit.

This byproduct DePuy hip recall lawsuit is probably a sideshow to the core of these hip implant lawsuits. Rummaging through plaintiffs' medical records while pretending to promise them something in exchange is awful. It is a clear end run artifice designed to fool plaintiffs into believing they don't need a lawyer. But the compensation for this inappropriate conduct pales in comparison to the real injuries that stem from the DePuy ASR hip recall. But this class action lawsuit underscores that people are mad and DePuy is not making things any better by not playing it straight with victims.

If you have a potential DePuy hip implant lawsuit, call 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation.

More hip implant problems, this time with Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Orthopaedics division (click here for Stryker and Zimmer hip implant issues).

Contrary to the good corporate responsibility of Boston Scientific for their quickly recalled defibrillators, DePuy seems to have taken their sweet time with their ASR hip implants, in addition to trying (and failing) to direct public misinformation on the issue.

First the background: the DePuy ASR hip implant is used for hip resurfacing (which is apparently not an issue), and more traditional hip replacement, which is at issue. The device is a metal-on-metal ball and socket, which can cause metal debris early in the life of the implant. That metal debris causes inflammation, and can lead to damaged muscles and soft tissue. The end result is that a very expensive and painful replacement surgery intended to last about 15 years ends up needing revision within two or three years.

Use of the device in the United States started in 2005. Since 2008, the FDA has received approximately 300 complaints (most people don’t complain to the FDA, so this indicates that the problem is much larger) from patients or their doctors about the early failure of the device.

Here’s where DePuy and Johnson & Johnson try to hide the ball from consumers. The product is more heavily used in Australia, and it was withdrawn from the Australian market in December of 2009—three to four months ago. A few months ago, the public was informed that DePuy would be phasing out the ASR hip implant here in the U.S. because of “slowing sales.” Indeed, last month DePuy’s worldwide vice president for regulatory affairs stated that “With declining sales of this particular product in its market segment, we are focusing on newer technologies.” So, according to the manufacturer, there was no safety issue. This "phasing out" seems to me to be diction-wrangling in order to avoid a technical recall, with its incumbent bad publicity.

But, with two years of reports of device failures, the experience of the Australian market, and DePuy’s own statements now indicate that the ASR has significant problems, and the failure rate directly impacts patient safety. The March 6 letter from DePuy states that the device has a higher failure rate when used on “certain types of patients,” which include those of short stature (often women) and people with certain bone weaknesses. This very statement seems to encourage doctors to stop using it. I wouldn't be surprised if DePuy is offering surgeons a refund (or perhaps DePuy credit) on returned ASR hip implants.

Add to this the fact that there is no information for consumers about the hip replacement problems anywhere on DePuy’s website or Johnson & Johnson’s website, and it is clear that the manufacturers are simply trying to avoid their responsibilities. The "phasing out" should have come sooner (at least at the same time as the Australian "withdrawal" from the market), and the manufacturer should have confessed its problems early, instead of lying to the public about “slowing sales.”

If you have a questions about a potential hip replacement lawsuit, call 800-553-8082 or go online for an internet consultation.