Email Reveals DePuy Knew of ASR Hip Problems Before Recall Was Issued

Nadrich & Cohen, LLP reports on a recent email which suggests that Johnson & Johnson was aware of problems with its DePuy ASR hips for a year before the devices were ever recalled.

Los Angeles, CA, February 28, 2012 – Nadrich & Cohen, LLP, a national law firm specializing in representing plaintiffs injured by medical devices, has previously reported on the developments in the ongoing controversy surrounding the now-recalled DePuy ASR metal hips. In the latest update, an internal email has revealed that DePuy executives were aware of potential problems with the ASR hips for as long as one year before the devices were taken off the market.

The email, dated August 21, 2009, was recently published by the New York Times, following an earlier report which indicated that Johnson & Johnson, parent company of DePuy Orthopedics, continued to market its ASR hip resurfacing system overseas, despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration had failed to approve the device for sale in the U.S.

The internal communication was authored by Pamela Plouhar, vice president for worldwide clinical affairs at DePuy. Ms. Plouhar indicated to several other high-ranking executives that the FDA had issued a non-approval letter for its ASR Hip Resurfacing System. Specifically, the email acknowledged the FDA’s concerns over the high number of revisions that occurred in clinical trials of the device. The email also acknowledged that overseas data from national joint registries was coming under scrutiny due to high revision rates associated with the metal hips.

According to the Times article, the ASR resurfacing system was never sold in the U.S. A similar product, the ASR Acetabular Hip, is believed to have been implanted in approximately 93,000 patients worldwide, with as many as one-third of the metal hips going to patients in the U.S. In August 2010, DePuy issued a worldwide recall of both devices after data from the U.K. National Joint Registry indicated that approximately 12-13% of all patients who received one of the metal hips required revision surgery to correct problems within the first five years.

Prior to the publication of the email, representatives of both Johnson & Johnson and DePuy had maintained that its research data did not indicate that the ASR metal hips were potentially defective. The company had also claimed that the increased need for revisions could be due to incorrect positioning on the part of surgeons who were implanting the devices. These statements now appear to be contradictory in light of the recently revealed email.

Johnson & Johnson and DePuy currently face numerous lawsuits filed in state and federal courts across the country on behalf of patients who claim they suffered complications stemming from an ASR hip implant. The plaintiffs have alleged that both companies were aware that the devices were defective but failed to adequately protect consumers from the dangers.

Nadrich & Cohen, LLP is offering confidential, no-cost consultations to patients who experienced pain, loss of mobility or required revision surgery after being implanted with a DePuy ASR hip. Help is available by calling the firm’s injury hotline at 1-800-718-4658 or by completing an online case evaluation form at www.depuyhipreplacementlawyers.net.

Nadrich & Cohen LLP is a national law firm with offices in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and other cities throughout California specializing in handling mass tort actions and representing individuals in cases involving pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers. The firm is committed to achieving the best outcome possible in every case and has recovered over $200 million in settlements on behalf of its clients.

In addition to handling DePuy ASR hip claims, the firm is also investigating cases involving Yaz, Actos, Avandia, Fosamax, Paxil, Zoloft, Vaginal Mesh, Wright Conserve Hips, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, Benzene, Reflex Sympathy Dystrophy, Fen Phen and PPH and Depakote. For more information, visit www.personalinjurylawcal.com.

Jennifer Poole
National Client Intake Coordinator
Nadrich & Cohen LLP
12100 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 1250
Los Angeles, CA 90025
800-718-4658
info@personalinjurylawcal.com
www.personalinjurylawcal.com

This release was published on openPR.