Once a defective medical product is implanted in the body, it is tough to get it out. If it needs to come out, there is more pain and expense.
Just when you thought you had heard the last of product recalls for a while, along comes a medical product recall that directly affects many of America’s seniors; the DePuy ASR hip system. It has turned out to be a defective hip implant, costing those who have received it further surgery and more pain. If you have experience with this product, you might want to talk to a skilled New Hampshire personal injury lawyer to find out what you can do about it.
These faulty hip implants first hit the medical marketplace in 2003 and were hailed as being newer and better. They were indeed newer, but better? That turned out to be the wrong assumption. The hip implant was built to use a ball and socket joint crafted completely out of metal. While this may sound like they would be more durable, the metal grinding on metal left chromium and cobalt chips inside the recipient’s body. The chips entered the bloodstream or congregated around the bones and embedded themselves into other body tissues. None of this is good news, medically speaking.
The one key issue here is that the maker of these hip implants, DePuy, knew their hip implant was not functioning properly a long time prior to it being taken off the market in August 2010. In fact, they removed it from the market in Australia in 2009, but kept selling it in the U.S. It was not until 2010 that it was recalled. Money before people’s health concerns? That would be a good guess and a corporate shame.
But, back to the conundrum of the hip implant and its removal. How do you recall a medical device already in a consumer’s body? In this instance, the company will pay for hip revision surgery and then keep the defective item. You can see where this may be going, can’t you? The removal of evidence makes it harder for other patients who may want to file lawsuits later with the help of their New Hampshire personal injury lawyer.
You could choose to call their help line if you like, but you might not be happy with the results. It is being answered by an insurance adjuster, whose job it is to reduce claims, not encourage people to file a lawsuit for what their injuries are really worth. To make a long story short, you can file a DePuy lawsuit in every state in the Union. Just talk to experienced legal counsel about your situation and if they can handle your case they will. If they can’t, you will be referred. Justice has a way of catching up with negligent manufacturers like Johnson & Johnson.
Charlie Donahue is a New Hampshire personal injury lawyer located in Keene. Donahue handles injury cases in New Hampshire and across the United States. To learn more about New Hampshire injury attorney, Charlie Donahue, visit Donahuelawfirm.com.