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One of the major manufactures of artificial hip implants is a company that was simply known as DePuy for many years.  Now the company has merged to become DePuy Synthes, and is also now a wholly owned subsidy of the Johnson & Johnson company ,which has become one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical and medical device manufactures. While many associate the company with making Band Aids and other consumer health care products, and they certainly do make those things, that is really only a very small part of the company’s business.

hip replacement lawyerArtificial hip implant devices are big business. The companies that make them can charge a lot for the device and with more than 300,000 people getting hip implants in year in the U.S. alone, a figure that is still growing, there is no shortage of patients to purchase them. There is a lot of competition from other medical device giants such as the Stryker Corporation.

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There is no question that medical devices and durable medical equipment are big business. There is also a lot of competition and these medical device firms are trying to get as many new products on the market as possible to maximize profits. While that can result in a lot of good for patients in need of new treatments, The rush to market can also result in shortcuts being taken, and these shortcuts are often taken at the expense of patients’ health and safety.

Boston products liablity One of the reasons they are able to get these new devices on the market so quickly is because of  a loophole of sorts in the medical device regulations governed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  If there is a similar device already on the market, and there often is, the company may be able to skip certain testing and then go back and do post-market testing.  Continue reading

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Xarelto is a member of a class of blood thinners known as new oral anticoagulants. It was primarily developed by German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG as a drug that could compete with Warfarin (Coumadin) that has been the gold standard of blood thinners for many years. Bayer partnered with a division of Johnson & Johnson to market the drug in the United States.

Product Liability LawyerXarelto has several competitors in the NOAC class of drugs including Eliquis, Pradaxa, and Savaysa. All of these drugs were supposed to be a one dose fits all alternative to Warfarin that is known too need careful monitoring of dosage and frequent alterations to keep patients from developing a serious, but reversible internal bleeding disorder.  It is reversible by  giving a bleeding victim an injection of potassium. For this reason, patients must closely monitor their diets and avoid leafy vegetables like kale, and go to the doctor for frequent blood tests. Xarelto and the other NOACs were supposed to be one dose fits all so there was no need for frequent checks and to stay away from leafy vegetables. Continue reading

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A total knee replacement has become one of the most common elective surgeries performed in the United States with over 300,000 operations performed each year. However, this popularity is in a large part driven by a group of medical device companies that are willing to rush their products to market even if they are defectively designed, insufficiently tested, and the companies to not adequately warn prospective patients of known dangers.  These three negligent acts are the basis for filing many products liability lawsuits in Boston for defective knee implant devices.

Boston Products LiabilityThe reason they are so eager to get these artificial knee joints on the market is because this is big business.  There is a lot of money to be made from these artificial knee implants and the companies that make them are often far more concerned about making a profit then they are about making sure their patients have a safe and working knee. Continue reading

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Xaretlto and its competitors were manufactured and marketed as anticoagulant medications that were a one-dose-fits-all solution.  This defectively designed medication with insufficient warnings turned out be a very dangerous option for many patients and turned out not to be that perfect one-dose solution it was heralded to be for those patients who needed an anticoagulant. There are many patients in Boston and across the United States who need to take some type of anticoagulation medicine.  There are various medical conditions that require the use of use of an anticoagulant or blood thinner, such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), atrial fibrillation (Afib), pulmonary embolism (PE), and even someone suffering from a stroke.

Product Liability LawyerFor many years, Coumadin (Warfarin) was the gold standard in treatment options for people in need of blood thinner. However, the drug companies were not happy with a generic medication holding such a high position and developed what are now known as new oral anticoagulants (NOACs).  This started with Xarelto, which is made by the German pharmaceutical giant, Bayer AG and its U.S. marketing partner Janssen (a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary) and then competitors Pradaxa, Eliquis, and eventually Savaysa. Continue reading

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There are a lot of different models of artificial hips on the market today, and there are many companies making these artificial hip implants.  This is because there a lot of artificial hips being implanted, and they cost a lot of money.  In fact, when a hospital buys the device, they pay between $4,500 and $7,500 per artificial hip joint, according to a policy think tank called the Advisory Board.

Products LiabilityIt is hard to know what it costs a patient with the hospitals routinely marking durable medical equipment (DME) way up, so the insurance company can than adjust them way down. Still, we are talking about thousands of dollars per device. As we have discussed in other posts on our Boston products liability blog, there are over 300,000 total hip replacement surgeries performed each year in the U.S. alone.  This has resulted in something of a market free-for-all, with other companies trying to get a cut of the action.
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There are a variety of different methods orthopedic surgeons can use to perform a total hip replacement surgery.  Doctors can use 3D mapping techniques, surgical assistance robots, or they can also use more traditional methods, such as using a cutting guide and placing the artificial hip implant in by hand.

Hip Replacement Injury LawOne of the questions often asked is whether it matters what surgical approach a doctor uses. This is the focus of a recent news article from Inspire Heath. The orthopedic surgeon who authored this article said he deals with prospective hip replacement patients on a daily basis. This should come as no surprise with hundreds of thousands of procedures being performed each year. Continue reading

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Xarelto is a member of a class of drugs known as New Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs). This class of drugs also includes several competitors to Xaretlo, including Eliquis, Pradaxa, and Savaysa, which is the newest class member. These medications are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to treat two serious medical conditions, but there are other approvals in the pipeline as we will discuss in this blog post.

Products Liability cases BostonThe first, and most common medical condition treatable by Xarelto (according to their marketing) is a serious condition known as atrial fibrillation (Afib).  Afib, as you may have heard Saturday Night Live alum or legendary golfer Arnold Palmer tell you on the seemingly nonstop barrage of Xarelto commercials, is an irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve defect.  This medical condition can cause blood clots to form in a patient, and these clots can travel though the circulatory system and into the lungs.  If they enter the lungs, they can puncture the tissue causing the lungs to fill with blood.  This is an often-deadly complication of the clotting disorder known as a pulmonary embolism, or PE as it often called.  The clots can also reach the brain, where they can block the flow of oxygen-rich blood, which can cause a stroke. Continue reading

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There are various types of claims that can be filed in a civil tort lawsuit.  Briefly, according to the Second Restatement of Torts, a tort is an act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which the courts may impose liability.  This definition is the one used by judges and is taught to every law student in America.  Essentially, this definition means that when someone does something that causes an injury to another person, and this is the type of conduct for which the court will impose a remedy, a case can be filed on this basis.

Products liablity There are various different types of torts, and there are also what are known as intentional torts and negligence torts.  For the purposes of personal injury law, we are mainly talking about negligence torts, though, there can also be a lawsuit for intentional torts like assault and battery, false imprisonment (civil kidnapping), arson, conversation (theft) and various others. Continue reading

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There is no question that millions of Americans are in need of potentially life-saving medications to prevent strokes from occurring.  In fact, as discussed in a recent Bio Pharma Dive article, strokes are up in the U.S.

Products Liability cases BostonThe conventional treatment for strokes for decades was Warfarin (Coumadin), which is a blood thinning medication.  In 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first of a new class of drugs to compete against Warfarin.  This new class of drugs was labeled new or novel anticoagulants (NAOCs) and works in a different way that Warfarin.  This new drug was called Xarelto, and when it came on the market, many patients started taking it instead of Warfarin. Continue reading