In August 2010, DePuy recalled thousands of its ASR hip implant units after medical watchdogs discovered the product was structually unsafe and caused many recipients metallosis, substantial loss of mobility in joints, and other symptoms. Thousands of lawsuits immediately followed, with most still pending.
Hip implants aren’t the only product produced by DePuy, and its parent division, Johnson & Johnson, that have contained flaws. According to a January 2011 New York Times story, 288 million Johnson & Johnson products, including 136 million bottles of liquid Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl, have been pulled from store shelves. Foreign bits of metal and moldy odors are among some of the chief reasons behind removal of these items. And in December 2010, 13 million packages of Rolaids, another Johnson & Johnson product, were pulled from shelves after they were contaminated with metal and wood particles.
Johnson & Johnson’s manufacturing errors have led government regulators to more closely scrutinize the company and its subdivisions. The F.D.A., for instance, has expressed that it is baffled as to why company executives have not been able to identify, prevent, or explain the recent emergence of problems that plague the medical manufacturer’s products. Even the State of Oregon has filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, claiming the company has misrepresented the quality and efficacy of its products. A shareholder’s lawsuit was filed against the company’s board of directors in December 2010 in response to the billions of dollars lost in damages payments to victims of Johnson & Johnson’s defective products.
While one might attribute the failure of just one Johnson & Johnson product as an isolated incident, such defenses lose merit once the other failed products are added to the picture. Indeed, the company has produced faulty over-the-counter medicines, hygiene products, and joint replacement devices–products that cover the entire spectrum of medical retail. Based on such observations, Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries, such as DePuy, appear to have a pattern of producing low-quality, high-risk products as of late.
In light of the above developments, it is clear that current safeguards have failed to protect the consumer against Johnson & Johnson’s mistakes. Government regulations have had nominal effect. And Johnson & Johnson’s self-regulations have certainly failed as well. Accordingly, the legal system remains the only method by which consumers can seek to hold Johnson & Johnson and its subdivisions responsible for the harm its faulty products have caused various people.
Keep checking this blog daily for more information on how law firms like Berniard Law Firm have been using the courts to help consumers achieve recovery against Johnson & Johnson and DePuy. Additionally, don’t hesitate to contact Berniard Law Firm for a free legal consultation relating to injuries you may have suffered as the result of a failed Johnson & Johnson product, such as the DePuy ASR hip implant.