June 25, 2011 – In the Health section of today’s edition of the New York Times, columnist Barry Meier points out that Americans’ “impulse to covet the new and improved” may be at the root of the DePuy Hip Recall.  (“In Medicine, New Isn’t Always Improved”)

While stopping far short of blaming the patients themselves for problems caused by DePuy metal-on-metal artificial hips, the article examines how medical improvements can be marketed as a panacea when data suggest their application should be limited to a certain class of patients.

Further, in this rush to have the “latest and greatest” technology, earlier studies questioning the effectiveness, and pointing out risks, are often ignored.

Readers will likely be shocked to learn that the Food and Drug Administration did NOT require clinical trials for most metal-on-metal hip implant devices.  The DePuy hip recall, however, has prompted changes within the FDA on this and other issues.

The surgeon I chose to perform my bilateral hip replacement surgery in 2010, Dr. Lawrence Dorr, is credited in the article for first calling public attention to the problem when some of his patients began to complain and required replacement operations.

Since the DePuy Hip Recall was initiated about nine months before my surgery in 2010, I feel fortunate at this point to have dodged a major catastrophic bullet in my own life.

The DePuy ASR Hip Recall continues to be a very serious matter in which our firm has a very personal interest.  We will persist in monitoring developments in this matter closely.

The once trusted and highly respected Johnson & Johnson name has taken some major image hits in the last 15 months according to a recent article.  During this time, the $60 Billion company has voluntarily recalled over 50 products.

In its cover story, Johnson & Johnson’s Quality Catastrophe, Bloomberg/ Businessweek highlights a number of the products involved and suggests a systematic and widespread quality control problem of late.

Among the products recalled, the DePuy ASR metal-on-metal prosthetic hips are arguably the most troubling for the company and potentially the hardest to defend.  Michael Kelly, a partner at San Francisco’s Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger which represents a number of plaintiffs currently pursuing litigation over the defective hips, says that’s because marketing took priority over science.  Among other things, it is alleged that the manufacturer was aware of the defective nature of these particular products yet failed to address the problem.

Even Academia is re-thinking its curricula when it comes to J&J.  Our company’s Finn Financial Group Facebook Page  recently highlighted a video featuring University of Michigan professor Erik Gordon discussing the brand damage J&J is suffering in large part due to its handling of the DePuy situation specifically.  He suggests the ramifications will likely be felt (and studied) for years to come.

If you or anyone you know is experiencing problems with a DePuy ASR hip replacement, call us to let us know how we may be of service.

As reported today on Bloomberg.com, the British Orthopaedic Association and the British Hip Society issued a statement that the failure rate of the DePuy ASR XL Acetabular System is more than twice what was originally represented when the device was recalled in 2010.

According to the article, nearly half of all patients who received the recalled device require a second surgery within six years.  The article goes on to reference the 350+ lawsuits recently consolidated in federal court in Ohio and the 220+ currently pending in California state court.

My personal interest in the matter stems from my own hip surgery in 2010.  Our firm stands ready to help those who have been adversely affected by the DePuy ASR Hip Recall in any way we can.  If you are anticipating a settlement, we can help you make wise choices about your settlement.  If you are unrepresented and seeking legal counsel, we can guide you.  Whatever your needs on this matter, we’re here to help.

And Why This Matters to Me

Then, just a few months out of the operating room, I learned of a worldwide recall of certain hip implant devices that were defective.  The DePuy ASR Hip Recall dispute now extends to all corners of the globe.

I’ve helped falsely convicted former prisoners establish their own path to financial independence following their exoneration into a world they were not fully prepared for.

I’ve helped paraplegics, quadriplegics, burn and brain injury patients, sex abuse victims and many other classes of plaintiffs and their conservators make sound financial choices when it came time for them to make decisions regarding their injury settlement recovery. 

But until recently, despite my best efforts to empathize with them, I could never fully appreciate everything my clients had gone through.  Could never fully appreciate the price they paid for their injury settlement because I had never gone through the same thing they had.

That is, until now.

I hope you’ll take a few moments to visit my new site and watch the short video I’ve created for current and prospective clients.  If you know anyone who has been impacted by this unfortunate set of circumstances, please let me know how I can help them.  I’m committed to helping.

Much is being written about the worldwide recall of ASR hip implants manufactured by DePuy Companies, a division of Johnson & Johnson.

According to attorneys at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger, who filed the first DePuy ASR products liability lawsuit in the country, the manufacturers knew of the defect long before it recalled the device in August of 2010.

It’s little surprise that the attorneys at Walkup, Melodia, a firm widely respected for its many successful verdicts and well known for attracting top flight legal talent, were the first ones to bring the extent of this defect to the public’s attention.

In addition to the fact that many plaintiffs involved in the DePuy ASR hip recall lawsuits around the country will benefit from structured settlements, I have a very personal reason for following these cases so closely.

In May of 2010 I underwent bilateral total hip replacement surgery myself.

While I’m relieved to know my surgeon did NOT use the DePuy ASR hip implant device (recalled just three months later) for my surgery, I cannot help thinking how close I may have come to being a plaintiff myself.  Or may be some day.

Over the coming months I will be sharing more with you more about my personal experience with hip surgery.  Until then, know that we will be monitoring developments of this litigation closely.