New York, New York (PRWEB) February 03, 2013
Two members of the British Parliament have called for a criminal inquiry into the DePuy ASR hip recall following revelations this week in the first-ever U.S. trial for an ASR lawsuit. According to a report from The Telegraph, MPs Andrew Miller and David Tredinnic are seeking the probe after testimony and documents presented during the Los Angeles Superior Court trial showed that Johnson & Johnson and DePuy Orthopaedics continued to market the ASR hip even after a leading British surgeon warned they were causing complications in a high number of patients. Additional evidence disclosed in the DePuy ASR hip lawsuit also indicated that a high percentage of the metal-on-metal hip implants were failing just 2 ½ years after implantation.* (Kransky v. DePuy, BC456086, California Superior Court, Los Angeles County)
“The evidence disclosed during the trial has raised serious questions about Johnson & Johnson’s handling of the ASR issues prior to its recall. It’s not surprising that we’re seeing some backlash,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing the victims of defective drugs and medical devices, including hundreds of recipients of the ASR hip implant. The Firm is offering free DePuy ASR lawsuit consultations to individuals allegedly injured by the recalled implant.
DePuy ASR Hip Lawsuits
DePuy and Johnson & Johnson are facing more than 10,000 U.S. lawsuits stemming from the DePuy ASR hip recall. While thousands are pending in California and other states, most have been filed in a multidistrict litigation underway in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio. (In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation – MDL 2197) DePuy issued a global recall for 93,000 ASR hip implants in 2010, after they were found to be failing in 12-13% of patients within just five years.
The documents disclosed in the course of the Los Angeles trial include a 2011 Johnson & Johnson analysis that estimated that almost 40% of the ASR hip implants will fail within five years of surgery. That study was never disclosed to the public, according to a recent report from The New York Times. The Times also reported that a compliance manager for DePuy testified in a videotaped deposition presented at trial on Thursday that the company had used inadequate or incorrect standards in trying to assess the risks associated with the implant before it came to market. According to the witness, DePuy’s tests fell short in 13 areas, including problems with the design of the ASR cup, which was prone to fretting and corrosion. A DePuy engineer who also testified on Thursday told the jury that the company only tested the ASR’s performance on laboratory equipment at one angle of implantation.**
The DePuy ASR is a metal-on-metal hip implant in which the ball and cup consist of chromium-cobalt alloy. Earlier this month, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a new rule that would make such devices ineligible for its 510(K) clearance program, which allowed metal-on-metal hip implants to come to market without human testing. The FDA also issued new guidance for the follow-up of patients with metal-on-metal hips, including advice that doctors consider metal ion testing for patients exhibiting signs that their hip may be failing.***
The attorneys of Bernstein Liebhard LLP are actively filing DePuy ASR hip lawsuits in the federal proceeding underway in Ohio. The first trials in that litigation are expected to begin this spring. The Firm is also involved in the federal litigation underway in the Northern District of Texas concerning the metal-on-metal DePuy Pinnacle hip device, where partner Jeffrey S. Grand is serving on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee. The first trial in the DePuy Pinnacle litigation is expected to begin in September 2014. (In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation - MDL No. 2244)
Individuals who have suffered metallosis, hip implant failure, and other serious complications as a result of the DePuy ASR hip or the metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip replacement may be entitled to compensation for their medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. A wealth of information on filing a DePuy hip implant lawsuit is available at Bernstein Liebhard’s website http://www.consumerinjurylawyers.com/. For additional information, please contact one of our attorneys today by calling 1-877-779-1414.
About Bernstein Liebhard
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993, including those who have been harmed by dangerous drugs, defective medical devices and consumer products. The firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the “Plaintiffs’ Hot List,” recognizing the top plaintiffs’ firms in the country, for the past 10 consecutive years.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
10 East 40th Street
New York, New York 10016
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. © 2013 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. The lawyer responsible for this advertisement in the State of Connecticut is Amy L. Abate. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
Felecia L. Stern, Esq.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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