Articles Posted in Defective Medical Devices

Tennessee residents and people all across the United States have heard about the hip recalls and many even know someone who has suffered because of it. However, many patients may not realize that release forms given out to them or help hotlines that they contact could potentially be used against them if they file a claim or lawsuit about their defective hip. If you or someone you love has suffered pain and problems or needed additional surgery due to a defective hip implant, then you should speak with a Tennessee hip recall and defective product lawyer right away. They will help make sure you receive the compensation you need for your pain and suffering.

Recent findings have shown that the Depuy Orthopedics Company a division of Johnson and Johnson has been using two methods to get information from their patients that may be used against them later. These methods include their telephone hotline that was established so that concerned patients could call up and ask questions about their hip implants and medical release forms given out to patients that ask for medical records and other evidence that is not the property of the Depuy Company. This hotline may seem to benefit patients but the employees on the line have been told to get specific information from a patient that the company can use to protect themselves later if a lawsuit or claim is filed. By signing medical release forms given out by the Depuy Company, patients are giving the company confidential information about their hip implant as well as their surgeries that could be used to benefit Depuy in a lawsuit later.

These hip implants have been shown to fail in twelve to thirteen percent of cases in the first five years. These hip implants can also cause patients to suffer from dangerous and life-threatening symptoms such as metal poisoning. It is important that patients and family members be aware that they may be giving away crucial information that may help them win their case.
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Tennessee residents as well as people all across the country have heard about the Depuy hip recalls. Many of us may have even had a loved one or friend with a defective Depuy hip implant. However, many people may not be aware that many drug companies hire doctors to promote and advertise their drugs and other products. If you or someone you love has recently suffered hip pain or needed a second surgery to replace a failing hip implant, then you should speak to a Tennessee Depuy hip recall and defective product lawyer right away. They will help see to it that you get the compensation you are entitled to for what you have suffered through.

Many drug companies including Johnson and Johnson, Lilly, Cephalon, Merck, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline have paid more than $257.8 million to doctors since 2009. Doctors are hired to organize “educational” seminars or meetings that will mention the benefits and risks of certain drugs and products. However, these physicians are actually using these meetings to advertise a certain drug or product for a certain company. According to research by ProPublica and National Public Radio it has been shown that physicians who are on a drug company’s payroll are not actually specialists. This leads to questions over their role as consultants for the company.

Several state medical boards have also penalized doctors who are receiving payments and many of them are now charged with misconduct. In the past, doctor and company relations were kept quiet but now, patients have access to a database which allows them to see if their physicians have received payment.
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In Tennessee and all across the country as well as all across the world, people know about the Depuy hip recalls and all the trouble they have caused millions of people with the failed hip implants. Many people with these implants have had to undergo multiple surgeries to get the problems fixed, not to mention pain and problems in their daily lives due to the failing implants. If you or someone you know has had to suffer due to a failing Depuy hip implant, then you should speak with a Tennessee Depuy recall and defective product lawyer as soon as possible. They will hear your case and work with you to make sure you get the compensation you need for what you have been through.

The Depuy Company is now stating that they will offer compensation for out of pocket expenses for the failure of their XL Acetabular System hip implants. These claims do not mention other costs. Depuy’s statement is they “will “cover reasonable and customary costs of testing and treatment if patients need services, including revision surgery if necessary.” The statement fails to say that patients have to fill out documents and send in evidence proving that they have a failing Depuy implant before even qualifying for these payments. This statement also fails to say that if a patient signs and sends in these documents they are agreeing to give Depuy x-rays, explants, and other medical information after a second surgery is performed. This means that in order to receive payment for a second surgery or other treatment, patients have to give their personal information and failed implant to Depuy. Depuy also says that they pay for patients’ co-pays, travel, and lost wages but then state that “These costs will be more clearly defined shortly and are subject to review on a case-by-case basis.”

Many people have suffered from these hip failures including caregivers who have to help out with loved ones, children whose parents or grandparents may not be able to care for them anymore, and coworkers and employers who have to cover for the person who is out of work due to this failure. Finally, people who suffered from these hip implants failing may need to move to different homes or have homes modified to fit their needs and some may need to be on permanent disability. These out of pocket expenses that Depuy is willing to pay will not cover all these costs.
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Tennessee residents as well as many people all over the United States have heard plenty of news about the Depuy hip recall and many have even been personally affected by the defective implants and the recall. If you have experienced pain near your hip implant after receiving it and suspect your implant might be defective and part of the recall, then it is important that you contact a Tennessee defective product and Depuy hip implant recall lawyer as soon as possible. They will work with you and other medical professionals to make sure you get the compensation you are entitled to for your pain and suffering.

Many people may know about the recall and even the possible sy mptoms but many people are probably wondering about how to find out what kind of hip implant they even have and if it is a part of the Depuy recall. Here are some tips you can use to help you figure out what kind of implant you have:

• Contact your surgeon or the hospital where you had your hip replacement surgery. Ask them for your medical records regarding the surgery and the type of hip implant you received.
• Request a copy of your medical records including all documents that list all the components used in your hip replacement system. This will help lawyers and doctors figure out if you have a case and provide you and them with evidence.

• If you find out that you did receive a Depuy hip implant, it is recommended that you contact a Tennessee Depuy hip implant and defective product attorney right away to see what kind of compensation you could receive.

• If you do not have a Depuy hip implant, but are worried that your hip implant may be defective or failing, contact your doctor as soon as possible to discuss the problems and possible treatment options.

• If your doctor determines that your hip implant is failing, it is important to report it to the FDA so an investigation can take place.

• Many people with Depuy hip implants will also be notified by their doctor or hospital by mail or phone and will receive instructions about how to get their hip implant examined for problems.
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Tennessee residents and people all across the country have all heard news about Depuy Hip replacement recall from the Johnson and Johnson Company. Many people know about the effects it can have or the need for more surgery to replace the defective Depuy hips. However, many people may not know that according to recent reports, it was discovered that Johnson and Johnson paid more than $80 million to surgeons so that they would promote the these hip replacements. If you or someone you care about is suffering due to a defective Depuy hip replacement, you should speak with a Tennessee defective product lawyer right away. They will help make sure you get the compensation you deserve for the suffering you have been through.

According to a recent health report, it was discovered that Johnson and Johnson paid more than $80 million to physicians across the country so they would promote, research, and consult about the defective hip replacements. The U.S. Department of Justice sought charges against medical device companies including the Depuy Company in 2007 alleging that the companies were using bribes in order to promote their products. The charges were dropped after the companies agreed to pay fines and only pay physicians for valid consulting.

The Depuy Company’s alleged payouts however, still continued. Disclosures from the company reveal that Depuy paid almost $48 million to physicians in 2009 and $33 million in September 2010. Also, some doctors were paid more than a million this year, even though 93,000 Depuy hip replacements were recalled.

Other sources show that Johnson and Johnson and the Depuy Company had knowledge of hip replacement defects but did not correct these problems or warn any patients. Symptoms of a problem with a hip replacement may include:
• Severe or long lasting pain around the hip replacement area • Inflammation • Lose hip implant • Broken bone or fracture around the hip replacement area • Severe risk of cancer due to mental parts causing contamination to the tissue around the hip replacement area Continue Reading

By now, many of us in Tennessee and all across the United States have heard the news about Depuy hip replacement recall. Some of us may even have friends or loved ones that have suffered because of the defective hips. Unfortunately, many of us may be unaware that this problem is not just in the United States. The defective products were recalled in Australia before even being marketed in the U.S. and the Depuy Company ignored many warnings about this product. If you or someone you know has been affected by the Depuy recall, then it is important that you speak to a Tennessee defective product lawyer as soon as possible. They will make sure you get the compensation you deserve for the pain and suffering you have been caused.
According to the Advertiser publication in Australia, health officials warned Depuy about the defective products seventeen different times. Stephen Graves a professor and director of the National Joint Replacement Registry in Australia stated that at least 17 different occasions” that there were concerns about the DePuy Hip system”.
Hip replacements on average have a life expectancy of up to twenty years. People who received the Depuy hip replacements before the recall, experienced problems after only a few years and in some cases, only months. Other sources state that the Depuy Company tried to place the blame on surgeons who, according to Depuy, failed to follow the installation instructions for the hip replacements. They also tried to place blame on patients, claiming that they were careless and negligent and contributed to their own injuries and problems with the hips.
Dr. Stephen Graves also states that, “It is a complete untruth that Depuy did not have reason to withdraw the ASR [hip replacement implant] before now. We have been telling them since 2007, but they allowed it to be used on thousands of people.”
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Tennessee residents and people all over the country rely on medicine to help us feel better so we can live healthy, productive, and happy lives. However, all medicines have side effects and sometimes these side effects can be dangerous, life altering and even fatal. When this happens, many people feel that the medicine did more harm than good and that someone should be held responsible. If you or someone you love has taken the drug Fosamax, and experienced dangerous or life altering side effects then you should speak with a Tennessee dangerous drug lawyer right away. They will hear your case and make sure you receive the compensation you deserve for your suffering.

In this case, the court ruled in favor of Merck in the case involving Judith Graves, a 67 year old woman who claimed to have suffered severe jaw problems after taking Fosamax. Graves took Fosamax until November 2004 and had her jaw amputated in 2006. The court ruled that the company acted properly in this case and the drug was not the cause of Graves’ dental and jaw problems because Graves had many other medical problems that could have caused the jaw problems.

Merck is currently dealing with more than nine hundred cases in state and federal courts and they are claiming that Fosamax can cause a jaw destroying condition known as osteonecrosis, and that the company did not properly warn people about this risk. A jury awarded $8 million to a Florida woman earlier in the year but later a judge ruled that the award was excessive. Another jury found for Merck in a case in May and a fourth case was dismissed in New York by a federal judge overseeing Fosamax cases.
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By now, many Tennessee residents as well as people across the country have heard about the Depuy recall because of a high risk of the hip implants failing many of the patients and the need to have more surgery to fix the problem. As a result of this recall and these problems, there have been several claims filed and lawsuits underway in Tennessee and across the country. If you or someone you care about has been experiencing problems with their implant, it is important that to speak with a doctor to determine if the implant was part of the Depuy recall. If so, you should talk to a Tennessee defective product lawyer right away. They can help you discuss your options as well as make sure you get the compensation you deserve.

A suggestion has been filed with the U.S. Judicial panel that handles cases that expand more than one district to combine all the Depuy recall claims and lawsuits into one court so that the cases can be matched together and heard before having to go to trial. This means that the cases would be matched according to similar problems, evidence, statements and other information as they relate to all the people filing claims because of the Depuy recall.

Some of the cases will go back to their initial district as lawsuits for each person that filed a claim, after all the matching information has been gathered by the one court. This allows people involved in the lawsuits as well as the judges more information and the opportunity to realize the importance of these cases. Most of these cases will get settled before a trial is needed and after the consolidations are over.
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Many of us here in Tennessee and across the country have heard about the Depuy hip recall and may even have been affected by it. This recall was issued by DePuy Orthopedics because of a high failure rate of the systems and the possibility that the heavy metals could go into the bloodstream and cause severe life-threatening damages. More than 10,000 people given these hip implants may be required to have additional surgery. This is why it is important that you know ways to better protect your health and legal rights during this whole process. If you or someone you love has been affected by this hip recall, please speak with a Tennessee defective product lawyer right away. They will hear your case and make sure you get the treatment you deserve.

• First contact your doctor if you suspect that you may be a Depuy hip recall victim If you feel pain or discomfort near your hip replacement location it is important to make an appointment with your doctor right away. They can tell you which hip replacement you actually have.
• Gather all the information you can
Make sure to right down all information about your pain and problems and your hip recall and do not sign anything with the Depuy company without speaking with a lawyer first, you may need this as evidence if you decide to pursue a lawsuit.

• Know the side effects and contact a doctor right away if you have any o Loosening of hip implant
o Tissue death near the area o Metal toxicity
o Intense pain near the area o Bone loss o The need for a second surgery
• Know who is most likely to be affected by the recall o People with dislocated or poorly placed hip implants o Females o People with weak bones Continue Reading

The last thing anyone needs when facing a surgery to replace the replacement is a hassle from the manufacturer about who is at fault for a defective replacement joint. Far too many people here in Tennessee and across the country are experiencing just that. Instead of cooperating, companies like Johnson & Johnson, dePuy, and Zimmer are trying to shift the focus of the blame from themselves to the doctors who performed the initial replacement surgeries. More and more frequently, allegations of medical malpractice are being seen as large corporations try and minimize their legal and financial liability. It is for this reason that it is crucial to have an experienced attorney on your side when facing this situation.

An attorney experienced in medical cases knows that preservation of evidence is crucial to the success of a case. Proper lines of communication with the physician need to be established and the right questions need to be asked in order to ensure that patients get the care they need without having to fight with companies whose pockets are much deeper than theirs. It is detrimental to the physical and mental well-being of patients when they have to worry about the burden of paying for a second replacement and not just concentrate on getting better.

The vast majority of joint replacements are a complete success with no need for further medical intervention. However, when there are complications or issues, you need to seek out the best help possible. We are here for anyone who needs it. Please contact us via email or at 800-705-2121 to schedule a no-cost consultation. No one should have to do this alone.