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Now it seems things are starting to get awry for this drug giant because of its recalled hip implant. As a trial of one of the many lawsuits against the manufacturer unfolds, top ranking officials of a leading powerful nation are looking into filing criminal charges. Currently, initial testimonies of witnesses are being heard in a DePuy ASR lawsuit, first case of 10,000 filed against the device manufacturer. In this particular trial, plaintiff Loren Kransky stipulates how his DePuy hip implant has caused him to experience serious adverse effects that deposited unhealthy levels of cobalt and chromium in his body. Because of these, he had to undergo a revision surgery to get the implant removed and eventually replaced. The trial began on the 25th of January, 2013. It would have proceeded as what most expected had it not caught the eye of the British Parliament. The august body stated that if proven that DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson knew about the issues of its hip implant then a criminal inquiry into the activities of these companies should be ordered. Testimony Bared DePuy Withheld Info Before ASR Recall According to court records, an orthopedic surgeon stationed in Musgrave Park Hospital (Belfast) named Dr. David Beverland wrote to DePuy as early as 2006 about his many concerns on the ASR hip. Specifically, he wrote to an engineer in DePuy about the different problems that he saw in his patients. A year after, Beverland informed DePuy that he has decided not to use the ASR hip implant because of the high incidence of complications. In April 2008, tests conducted by the company revealed that the ASR device had a poor performance in comparison to other similar hip implants. Because of these findings, the engineer who was in charge of the tests, concluded in an email that the results could “seriously affect our business” potentially. He further stated that in some conditions the ASR device is prone to “extreme metal ions levels”. British Parliament Members Apalled by DePuy’s Actions Testimonies so far have shown that DePuy was aware of the problems that existed in its ASR hip implant even before the August 2010 recall. For his part, Andrew Miller, a British Parliament member (MP), finds it “appalling” that a company had continued to sell an allegedly faulty device that it knew had health risks. On February 1, 2013 in The Telegraph, Miller further concluded that corresponding government health regulators should consider “involving the police” to conduct a “criminal inquiry”. Another parliament member, David Tredinnick agreed. He will have the issue raised to two committees, the Health Committee and the Science and Technology Committee. DePuy ASR Recall: Too Little, Too Late for the Patients However, DePuy counters that its actions were proper in ordering the ASR recall. To note, thousands of patients had been implanted the ASR hip around the world, in the U.S. and Britain. It was in 2006 that the manufacturer allegedly first knew of the complications associated with its hip implant and eventually recalling it in 2010, four years later. Today, DePuy faces thousands of lawsuits over the hip device from plaintiffs who are seeking compensation via a jury award or a settlement. Unsealed court documents on the 18th of January, 2013 revealed that Johnson & Johnson estimated that 37 per cent of the DePuy ASR hip recalled would fail within the period of 4.6 years. Getting Due Justice for DePuy Hip Injuries The pain and suffering that one suffered as a result of one’s DePuy hip implant could make one liable for just compensation. To do this, one needs the expertise of an experienced personal injury lawyer to file a DePuy hip lawsuit. Starting a hip lawsuit against DePuy is easy, sites like rotlaw.com of RLG (Rottenstein Law Group) can give a comprehensive legal assessment for free. To a certain extent, there is a lot of focus needed to get a lawsuit done. But that is a small price to pay to get compensated, given the circumstances.
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DePuy, ASR, Lawsuit,
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