DePuy Hip Recall
January 27th, 2012
The DePuy hip recall, issued during the fall of 2010, raises an important question when it comes to the balance between consumer safety and corporate profit. Investigations have found that the company, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has long possessed evidence that failure of their hip replacement devices have resulted in pain, tissue damage and the need for repeat surgery in thousands of patients. Aware of this fact, experts speculate that it is only the onslaught of personal injury lawsuits that has finally led the company to issue a product recall. Who is to blame in a case such as this? Can a corporation be blamed for continuing to market a device known to be faulty while it is still profitable? Or should the FDA be held accountable for failing to recognize failure rates at an earlier time? Either way, DePuy is paying for the product failure as it settles lawsuits of angry consumers throughout the world. If the United States government truly cares about the safety of its citizens, legislators need to take action to make sure incidents like the DePuy hip replacement system recall never happen again. DePuy’s widely used hip replacement systems have been found to have serious flaws €“ the devices create metal debris in the joint, leading to tissue damage, pain and the need for a repeat hip replacement surgery. Researchers have uncovered evidence that DePuy was aware of the flaws in their products long before their 2010 recall was issued. Large corporations are rarely expected to hold themselves accountable for consumer safety; the FDA is tasked with that job. The DePuy case should lead lawmakers to reexamine FDA regulatory practices. In the meantime, consumers are relying on DePuy hip recall lawyers to pursue claims.