After Recall, ASR Lawsuits Rise

Its recall may have propelled many patients to action. Today, the number of lawsuits filed against DePuy is increasing at a faster rate.

Lawsuits are pouring in against DePuy Orthopaedic Inc. for alleged Articular Surface Replacement (ASR) hip systems. One of the latest to be filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois comes from Michael Schaff. He is seeking damages for more than $75,000  for alleged negligence by DePuy.

Those lawsuits that were filed ahead of Schaff’s have already been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation or MDL. These are being handled in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by Judge David A.Katz .

Seeking Justice

Filing a case on the 11th of October, 2011, Schaff claimed suffering from injuries brought about by a faulty DePuy ASR hip replacement system. He had his device implanted by November of 2009. Less than two years after, he required a revision surgery.

Schaff claimed he not only has suffered internally but also externally because of the implant. The lawsuit alleged further DePuy’s “careless and negligent acts”. This has come to include improperly designing implant.

Added to this, said manufacturer had fraudulently marketed the ASR device, branding it safe and effective. On the contrary, plaintiff has suffered "great pain and anguish, both in mind and body, and will in the future continue to suffer," the lawsuit alleged.

A Pile of Negative Reviews

Many of the complications of DePuy ASR hip replacement systems have been attributed to their design. The New York Times, for example has reported that a number of orthopaedic specialists believed the ASR cup, which is shallower than most, is at the heart of the problem.

Making matters worse, is the Metal-on-Metal (MoM) complications that have come to plague most all-metal implants like the DePuy ASR systems. Of the thousands of complaints that has reached the FDA, DePuy accounts for 75 percent, the rest pertains to other hip implant manufacturers.

In reaction, the FDA has ordered a post-market surveillance studies last May 2011 to all device-makers. However, results will not be available until five years after.

No doubt, having to go through pain is frustrating. That is the reason why filing a DePuy hip lawsuit needs to done right and fast. Good thing that the internet through sites like rotlaw.com of the Rottenstein Law Group(RLG) has become an indispensable ally in this fight for justice.

The recall confirmed what Schaff has feared was the root of his ASR hip replacement miseries. Filing a hip lawsuit against DePuy is just a natural conclusion.

FUMING OVER BABY’S BIRTH DEFECTS MOTHER SUES PFIZER

It may have been seven years since her daughter was born with a host of birth defects. But the complications have left her daughter still in pain, suffering perhaps even for a lifetime.

Recently, a mother has filed a birth defect lawsuit against Pfizer. She alleges her daughter was born with a malformation because she took prescribed Zoloft during her pregnancy. Her Springfield girl is now seven years old.

An Unusual Case

In a lawsuit filed on behalf of her daughter, a mother stipulates her child was born in 2005 with an abnormal anal opening.  To conceal her daughter’s identity, the child is only referred to by her initials in the complaint. Furthermore, even the court’s Register-Guard is not given the mother’s name to the public to protect the girl and her privacy.

Seeking Justice

The plaintiff specifies that she was prescribed Zoloft and started taking them in 2004. However, she continued the medication up to the time of her pregnancy being told that it was not harmful to do so.
But things proceeded with a dramatic turn. Not only was her daughter born more than a month early, a series of complications endangered the newly-born. According to the lawsuit, the baby had abnormally narrow internal organs from the large intestine and anal canal down to the rectum.

Because of said complication, the girl had to undergo multiple surgeries which included a colostomy. Worse, this may entail lifelong hospital and medical care for her.

Although the lawsuit was filed in federal court, it is expected to be consolidated under a Multidistrict litigation (MDL). Other lawsuits over birth defects against Pfizer have already been bonded together as one.
 
Conspiracy of Silence

The lawsuit further alleges that Pfizer was negligent in its marketing. The manufacturer presented Zoloft as a safe antidepressant for pregnant women. This is in spite of the fact that it knew way back in 1991 about the unreasonable danger said product posed to “pregnant users” and their “unborn children.”

Further, the lawsuit alleges that no adequate warning was put in place by Pfizer to the consumers, physicians or to the FDA about these birth defects. And like her and her Springfield baby, millions are left in the dark.
For its part, Pfizer cites “extensive science” is behind Zoloft. Also, a spokesman of the company expressed sympathy over these families that have to deal with birth defects. However, it is their intention to vigorously defend the company and Zoloft as the product is FDA-approved.

A birth defect lawsuit demands attention over details. Many would-be plaintiffs come rushing in armed only with their desire for justice but without any training on legal matters. Good thing, sites on the internet like rotlaw.com of the Rottenstein Law Group (RLG) have become a handy tool to move lawsuits over birth defects forward.

This lawsuit seeks compensation for economic, noneconomic and punitive damages in an unspecified amount. However, judging by the extent of the damage, this may cost Pfizer a fortune.