Miami Injury Lawyer Blog
Friday a jury in Los Angeles heard opening statements in a fraud and negligence lawsuit that alleges Johnson & Johnson knowingly marketed a false hip implant that left thousands with severe complications or in need of replacement surgery. The all-metal ball-and-socket hip joint was pulled from the market two years ago, but thousands of cases similar to the California suit currently exist all over the United States. This lawsuit is the first of these cases to reach trial.
Plaintiff Loren Kransky sought hip replacement to relieve arthritic pain. He received the Johnson & Johnson hip implant in 2007, but has had it replaced since then. Kransky was left with metal in his hip socket after it flaked off of the implant. These pieces of metal were causing a form of metal poisoning that could have killed Kransky if they were not removed. A lawyer for Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary, DePuy Orthopedics, Inc., which manufactured the hip implant, pointed to Kransky’s pre-existing medical conditions as the cause of his health decay. According to the lawyer, Kransky suffered from sixteen major diseases, including cancer and diabetes. The lawyer argued that the hip implant did not make him worse and removing it did not make him better.
The metal hip implant was meant to serve as an improvement on ceramic and plastic implants. It was sold to 35,000 people in the United States and over 90,000 people worldwide for a period of eight years. In 2009, Johnson and Johnson stopped making the metal hip implant and a year later it recalled the product. Court documents reveal that the company was aware of the problem with the product as far back as 2008. A deposition with a DePuy official revealed that more than one-third of the implants were expected to fail within five years of implantation. Kransky’s attorney is requesting punitive damages to send a message to the company for failing to reveal the damaging knowledge it had about the metal hip implant.
Trial under way in LA hip joint replacement suit, www.miamiherald.com January 25, 2013
Companies like Johnson & Johnson are expected to exercise a high level of care when manufacturing products intended for implantation in the human body. When these companies fail to follow this standard they should be held liable for subsequent injuries caused by their negligence. If you or a loved one has suffered injuries due to a defective medical device, contact a Miami medical malpractice lawyer at the Friedland | Carmona today. The Coral Gables personal injury lawyers have spent over twenty years working with victims of medical malpractice to recover compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Call (305) 661-2008 today for your free consultation!
The Miami insurance litigation lawyers at the Friedland | Carmona handle all types of medical malpractice injuries throughout the state of Florida, including Boca Raton, Homestead, North Miami, South Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Pembroke Pines, Hialeah, Kendall, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. The Friedland | Carmona handles all types of personal injury cases, including wrongful death, defective medical devices, motor vehicle accidents, slip and falls and construction site injuries. Call today and let our family take care of your family!