Product Liability Lawyer Blog

October 25, 2017

Serious Safety Testing Violations Found with DePuy Pinnacle Hip

A British federal agency has discovered serious safety testing flaws on metal hip implants, sparking concern the devices were defective and dangerous as sold.

Most artificial hip joints are made from metal, plastic, and cements or a combination of these materials. The DePuy Pinnacle and DePuy Pinnacle ASR hips were not designed like ordinary artificial hip implants. These hips were designed with an all metal construction. This means that both the ball and socket were made entirely of metal. The idea, as suggested by the company’s marketing department is that a metal-on-metal hip joint would be smoother than a traditionally-designed implant. This in turn would allow younger hip replacement patients to lead a more active life as the joint would act like the patient’s uninjured natural joint.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned by the company. Like most metal surfaces, when it is subject to extreme amounts of force and rubbed against other metal surfaces, it creates friction and this leads to integral breakdown. There are many consequences to a hip joint breaking down prematurely. Continue reading

October 14, 2017

Study: DePuy Attune Knee System Has “Unusually High” Early Failure Rate

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A recent study conducted by nine prominent orthopaedic surgeons and published in The Journal of Knee Surgery revealed the Attune Total Knee Arthroplasty System had an unusually high rate of failure, prompting calls for further research. The study came on the heels of the first (of what may be many) product liability lawsuits filed against Attune manufacturer DePuy Synthe, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

The company promises the knee replacement devices, approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s 510(k) fast-track process in 2010, will improve range of motion and give patients a stable knee replacement for years to come. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons reports successful knee replacements can last up to 20 years or more. Over the last several months, however, the firm has filed several dozen reports with the FDA that document early failures resulting in destabilization of the knee replacement and painful revision surgeries.

The recent study analyzed the high failure rate, and attributed much of it to the “debonding of the tibial implant-cement interface.” In layman’s terms, surgeons found that the adhesive being used to bond the implant and keep it in place is inadequate. This results in a loosening of one of its components, destabilizing the entire knee.

October 8, 2017

Hip Replacement Market Booms Despite Boston Injury Cases

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Defective hip implants are a major and ongoing problem throughout the U.S., yet the demand for the procedure is at an all-time high.

A recent analysis of the of the state of the hip replacement market though 2024 by Persistence Market Research looks at trends in the industry based up statistical research and predicts the state of the market in several years to come. A total hip replacement is the most common elective surgical procedure in the United States with over 600,000 artificial hips implanted in patients in any given year.

When we look to the global numbers, as discussed in this marketing study, we see these numbers are just as high in many other places in the world and the world market for hip implants is expected to increase at 4.7 percent, and when break down the numbers, this is a massive increase. Continue reading

September 30, 2017

Pursuing a Defective Vehicle Lawsuit

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There are many reasons a car accident can occur in Boston. Most of the time, the crash occurs as a result of an at-fault driver who was engaged in negligent driving. However, in some cases, including single-vehicle accidents, we are actually dealing with a products liability issue.

A products liability case is a type of civil lawsuit, still based upon a theory of negligence, like many others, but in these cases, the accident was caused by a defectively designed product, including a motor vehicle, or a product that had a hidden danger, and the company, dealer, or supplier failed to warn potential plaintiff’s (customers) of that known danger. Continue reading

September 20, 2017

Litigation for Defective Metal-on-Metal Hip Implants

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There are many types of artificial hip implants on the market. Many involve the use of a cement, composite, metal, or some combination of both. One devices that proved particular troublesome due to design defects and failure to warn doctors and patients of known dangers was the Pinnacle ASR metal on metal hip implant manufactured by a company called DePuy.

The metal on metal hip used both a metal ball and socket in the artificial joint. The theory, according to company marketing material, is that metal on metal would be smother and have less friction than other designs. This would mean that a patient could theoretically lead a much more active lifestyle since the hip joint would move more freely. Continue reading

September 11, 2017

New Hip Implant Technology and Boston Products Liability Issues

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

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.

Artificial 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.

September 3, 2017

Defective Medical Device Lawsuits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

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.

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

August 28, 2017

Bayer Trials and Xarelto Liability

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

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.

Xarelto 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

August 12, 2017

New Options to Prolong Knee Replacement Surgery

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

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.

The 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

August 5, 2017

Boston Xarelto Lawsuits and Dosing Issues

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

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.

For 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