The makers of a metal on metal hip implant are in hot water now that documents released in court show that executives knew of potential problems long before a recall was ever issued. As more facts begin to come to light, it’s becoming more and more apparent that customers may have potentially been misled as to the safety and efficacy of such devices.
As a New York Times editorial shows us, this is but the latest disappointment to those patients who thought the installation of an all-metal hip implant would change their lives for the better. The touted superiority of these devices was what led some 500,000 people to agree to the implantation in the first place. What consumers did not know was that devices like the DePuy ASR failed to go through a rigorous testing process that may have exposed certain deficiencies.
Instead, the implants have failed at inordinately high rates, leading to the recall of the DePuy ASR in 2010. But in 2008, surgeons and consultants under the employment of Depuy warned executives of potential flaws with the devices. Court documents expose this unsavory truth, which was never related to healthcare professionals installing the implants. Internal research which also suggested impediments to proper usage was similarly kept out of circulation.
With upwards of 10,000 lawsuits filed against DePuy and Johnson & Johnson, more information will continue to come out. Stay tuned for the latest updates.