The global nature of the medical establishment turns out to be double-edged: while such a system can make the most recent cures or treatments available at almost everywhere in the shortest amount of time, any inherent error in the same treatments also has the potential to affect as many people around the world as possible. This is clearly demonstrated in the recent hip replacement recalls. Take the case of DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., for example. As the manufacturer of what was previously considered an “advanced hip replacement system” called the ASR, DePuy is currently embroiled in wave after wave of costly lawsuits that could easily exceed $1 billion, all due to a growing number of complaints and real-world performance failure of the company’s supposedly state-of-the-art artificial hip implants.
In the USA alone, according to the estimates offered by DePuy parent company Johnson & Johnson, about 37,000 people received the defective artificial hip implants. What aggravates the problem is the fact that such implants are also exported around the world, with about a total of 100,000 recipients as of last count. And it is perhaps reasonable to consider these figures as still within the conservative range—the actual numbers are probably bigger by thousands more.
And more and more complainants are coming out of the woodwork, especially right after DePuy finally conceded regarding its products’ defects and recalled the ASR hip replacement system sometime in the middle of 2010. In Ohio, USA, about 3,000 Hip Replacement Lawsuits have already been filed in federal court, with more or less 20 lawsuits added to that number daily. And that is only in a single state. The same thing is happening in other countries. In Tasmania, it has been reported that about 6,000 locals are recipients of DePuy’s defective hip implants, and so far, dozens have filed lawsuits in the local courts. In the UK, recipients of the hip implant claim that that the hip replacement merely aggravated their medical condition, leaving them to suffer severe physical pain and significant economic losses. It is important to note that each lawsuit filed by a complainant essentially encourages others to take similar action and make their suffering known, and eventually, receive justifiable compensation for it.
Other hip implant manufacturers also suffered from this onslaught of lawsuits. One company called Zimmer, manufacturer of the Zimmer Durom Cup (used in the pelvic socket), temporarily recalled its product in 2008 due to complaints of premature failure—the said cup was supposed to last at least 15 years, but began failing a few years after implantation. And although the said product has since been re-introduced into the market (with upgraded instructions to surgeons), many suffering recipients still seek out lawyers to sue the company for compensation.
The “opportunistic” aspect of the whole recall thing can also not be denied: lawyers or legal firms engaging in upholding the rights of patients are of course getting hefty lawyer’s fees. For lawyers, being in the business of a medical product recall is like stumbling into a pond teeming with fish: there are so many potential clients who all could potentially receive generous settlements.
However, the silver lining in this whole mess is probably the recent effort by three US senators to put in place more stringent measures concerning the approval of such medical devices. The said senators sponsored a bill that empowers the FDA to require medical device manufacturers to monitor the actual performance of their products after they have been implanted. Hopefully, this new law would provide some amount of protection to the medical rights of consumers.
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I had my first hip replacement surgery March 2009 (left side) my second on the right side August/September 2009,approximately 6 months ago i noticed pain in left hip and groin area and the left hip began squeaking,The pain is worsening and squeaking louder and more often,I can no longer walk any distance without pain,My worse fear is I feel my right hip is heading the same way. I would be interested in any information concerning stryker ceramic hip recall and concerning class action for Australian citizens, I cannot understand why I have to pay to fix a manufacturers stuff up and also go through the pain and suffering,regards Faye.
I’m really sorry to hear about your travails Faye, and thanks for your comment. It is indeed a crime, especially considering the fact that many of the hip replacement manufacturers continued to put their products on the market long after the implants began to fail at an alarming rate.
I’ve posted a bit of info about issues with Stryker’s Trudent implants here. In short, Stryker issued a recall of the Trident Acetabular PSL Cup and the Trident Hemispherical Cup in 2008 after warnings from the US FDA.
Unfortunately, I’m not aware of any class action suits against Stryker in Australia, but I have put out some calls and will post more information as it arrives. Check back in a few days and I should have some more information for you.
Best,
Kim
DEAR KIM,HEY THERE,I AM WRITING TO YOU FROM MY HOSPITAL-BED IN HAEMEK HOSPITAL,AFULA,ISRAEL.A QUICK LOW-DOWN ON MY PLEIGHT.I HAD MY LEFT FULL HIP REPLACEMENT DONE IN MARCH,2008,AND MY RIGHT HIP FULL REPLACEMENT DONE IN MARCH,2009.RECOVERY IN BOTH SEEMED OK.THEN,IN 2010 I STARTED TO GET TERRIBLE PAINS IN RIGHT HIP.HAD CHECK-UPS AND STARTED TO HAVE PHYSIO BUT STILL WAS VERY SORE.THEN,EARLY 2011 RECIEVED LETTER TO GO I8N TO HAVE CHECK-UP OF BOTH SIDES AS I HAD RECIEVED DE-PUYS RE-CALLED PARTS.STARTED TO WORRY AND MOST OF THE YEAR TESTS,PHYSIO AND SWOULD BE REPLACED.WELL HERE GOESTARTED TAKING ALL SORTS OF TABLETS FOR MY PAIN.THEN IT WAS DECIDED TO DO A COBALT TEST THAT CAME BACK SO,SO HIGH THAT IT WAS ARRANGED TO HAVE MY R.HIP RE-DONE.I WAS SO SHOCKED AFTER GOING THROUGH HARD OPERATIONS IN THE PAST ON BOTH HIPS.ON 1/2/2012 WENT INTO HOSPITAL TO BE OPERATED ON THE NEXT MORNING.WE THOUGHT JUST THE CUP OF MY HIP WELL MY DOCTORS AND ALL AT MY OPERATION RECIEVED A SHOCKING SURPRISE.WHEN THEY OPENED ME UP THEY WERE MET BY PUSS SPLERTING OUT FROM AROUND MY JAND J PART AND THE CUP DISI8NTEGRATED INTO THE HAND OF ONE SURGEON FULL OF PUSS AND HAD TO SMASH OPEN MY FEMUR TO TAKE OUTMY HIP-REPLACEMENT AS WAS STUCK FULL OF PUSS INSIDE AS WELL.OPERATION TOOK 8 LONG HOURS AND WAS 28 HOURS IN INTENSIVE CARE.I WOKE UP TO BE TOLD WHAT HAD HAPPENED AND CRIED WITH EMOTION AND HORRIBLE PAIN.THE RESULTS AS FOLLOWS,NO HIP PART,CANNOT WALK NOW,ANTI-BIOTICS THROUGH PICK-LINE TO CLEAR MY SYSTEM UP.THE PAINS KILLING ME,NOTHING HELPING TO REDUCE THEM.NOW,8 WEEKS ANOTHER 2 0F ANTI-BIOTICS THEN A WAIT OF A FEW WEEKS AND THEN TO OPERATE AGAIN TO PUT IN MY NEW HIP-REPLACEMENT.I HAVE AND AM SUFFERING.TO THINK THAT I HAD HIP-REPLACEMENTS DONE TO IMPROVE MY QUALITY OF LIFE.THIS COMPANY ARE A DISGRACE TO SAY THEY HELP PEOPLE ENJOY LIFE,MYSELF AND OTHERS HAVE BEEN PUT THROUGH HELL .I AM 69 WAS A SPORTSMAN IN MELBOURNE,AUSTRALIA MANY YEARS AGO.AM REALLY HEART-BROKEN AND HOPING I WILL BE OK.I HOPE MY STORY IS OF INTEREST.I WORRY THAT I STILL HAVE AFTER MY R.HIP STILL MY LEFT HIP TO DO.ALL THE BEST TO YOU AND ALL OTHERS WHO ARE SUFFERING BECAUSE OF THIS FIRM,BEST REGARDS,HIRAM JANOVER.
Hiram,
Thanks so much for sharing your story. I can only imagine the pain and frustration you’re experiencing right now, and I wish you a smooth road to recovery forthwith.
What a horrible ordeal you’re going through. It really is amazing that Dupuy et al are not made to stand in front of a firing squad.
My thoughts are with you and godspeed to your recovery,
Kim
I had a left thp in 10/2009, 3 months later I am in the same pain as I was before, I can’t hardly function at all and it is ruining my life. I had a Stryker titanium put in. Do you know of any recalls on these?