DePuy Hip

April 21, 2014

FDA Approves Drug to Prevent Pulmonary Embolism for Implant Patients

As an increasing number of Americans are faced with the difficult decision of whether to pursue hip or knee replacements, an increasing number of cases involving complications. This has given rise to hundreds of thousands of lawsuits, millions in medical expenses, and ongoing health issues for patients. Now Bristol-Meyers Squibb has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new supplemental drug for deep vain thrombosis, which could result in pulmonary embolism in patients who have undergone hip or knee replacement surgery.

The new drug, known as Eliquis is intended to prevent deep pain thrombosis in patients who have undergone hip or knee replacement. Advocates for the drug claim that the approval is a significant milestone for the medication and for the patients who suffer from additional health risks associated with knee and hip implants. Our Boston products liability attorneys are dedicated to helping victims or defective or dangerous products recover just compensation for their injuries. In addition to pursuing financial claims, we are committed to raising awareness surrounding the complications associated with medical device injury.
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March 7, 2014

Long Recovery Makes Replacement-Hip Failure Especially Tragic

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Patients who opt for replacement hip or knee joints have a long road to recovery after the procedure. While many factors go into the decision of whether to get elective joint replacement, those who have the operation do so because they want to increase mobility and be able to do more with their lives. However, doctors recommend other types of treatments like losing weight or exercising to strengthen the muscles around the joints because the recovery process for surgical joint replacement can be intensive.

When a patient does decide to undergo a joint replacement procedure, the full process of healing the soft tissue and bone could take longer than a year. After the time, expense and recovery process, patients deserve to enjoy the benefits that they hoped for when undergoing the surgery. Unfortunately, far too often, this does not happen because patients instead find themselves coping with serious complications and with the potential need for revision surgery.
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November 27, 2013

DePuy Announces U.S. Settlement to Compensate Hip System Victims

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Metal on metal hip implants manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. caused serious complications for patients and had a high failure rate. Thousands of patients filed lawsuits against DePuy because they experienced metallosis, failure of their hip implant or replacement system, pain and discomfort, or other harm as a result of the metal replacement joint.

hip implant lawyers in Boston know that many patients were required to have a revision surgery performed within five years after the metal hip implant was installed, thus incurring significant expenses and suffering both economic and non-financial loss. Now, Johnson & Johnson has announced that DePuy Orthopaedics has agreed to a settlement to compensate eligible ASR patients in the United States who had surgery to replace their ASR hip implant as of August 31, 2013.
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November 1, 2013

Americans Taking Advantage of Medical Devices, but the Risks Cannot be Understated

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A surprising trend in recent years: middle-aged Americans are increasingly taking advantage of medical procedures that were typically reserved for the elderly. According to The Bulletin, “hundreds of thousands of [younger] Americans” are undergoing medical procedures to implant devices that can improve mobility.

Our Boston defective hip implant lawyers know that metal-on-metal hip implant products were largely marketed to younger consumers because they were supposed to provide advantages to the young and mobile. Unfortunately, these new metal hip replacements backfired when they turned out to be unreliable and dangerous. This means that as the medical device market shifts to accommodate increasingly younger patients, it is important that device manufacturers do everything possible to avoid future mistakes that lead to more defective products coming into the market.
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September 29, 2013

Case Against Johnson & Johnson Could Affect your Right to Compensation if You Have a Defective Hip Implant

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A case brought by a 57-year-old Rochester woman against Johnson & Johnson was supposed to begin on September 9, 2013 but the start of the trial was delayed by two weeks to September 23. The case is being referred to as a “bellwether” case as it is the first federal ASR hip implant claim against Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Orthopaedics Unit that will be heard by a jury.

Our Boston defective hip implant lawyers know that there are around 3,600 additional lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson arising from the company’s recalled ASR hip implants. The outcome of this case could have a determinative impact on how Johnson & Johnson treats those pending claims.
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September 26, 2013

Consumers Union Calls for a Warranty on Hip and Knee Implants to Protect Patients: Can This Solve Problems for Patients?

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Hip and knee implants are common to replace damaged and aging joints, and Consumer Reports writes that aggressive marketing to aging baby boomers and young consumers is likely to result in increased demand for these procedures in the future. By 2030, the number of hip and knee replacement surgeries is expected to quadruple. This means that more than four million people each year will get a replacement hip or a replacement knee.

Hip and knee replacement products should provide increased mobility and a more pain-free life to patients, but unfortunately this has not proved to be the case for many patients who had defective hip implant products implanted. With demand for hip replacement devices expected to grow so dramatically, our Boston defective hip implant lawyers know that steps need to be taken to protect the public from being harmed by dangerous medical devices. Consumer Reports has suggested that hip implant manufacturers be required to provide a warranty, but is this the answer?
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September 11, 2013

Defective Medical Device Watch: DePuy Hip Lawsuit Postponed

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

All eyes have been on the case of McCracken v. DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., the first bellwether trial scheduled in the federal court multi-district litigation over Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy unit metal hip implants.

Our Boston DePuy hip replacement injury attorneys know that the trial had been slated to begin Sept. 9, 2013, but the judge has postponed the case at least two weeks in order to settle a number of legal rulings that have to be made prior to jury selection.

In complex cases like this, such delays aren’t uncommon.
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