Orthopedist and Co-Developer of Defective Recalled DePuy Hip Replacement Sued by Recipient Patient

Orthopedist and Co-Developer of Defective Recalled DePuy Hip Replacement Sued by Recipient Patient

When DePuy recalled its defective hip replacements, it became fairly clear that orthopedists were not at fault. We know, though, that in product liability lawsuits, the chain of liability can extend from the original designers all the way to the end-users. Consequently, DePuy, as best it can, claims that orthopedists bear some responsibility for the hip replacements' failures in recipients. However, most recipients of the recalled hip replacements will not want to sue their orthopedists, and only in rare circumstances would they be responsible.

One such circumstance has recently appeared in the news. A DePuy hip replacement recipient is suing Dr. Thomas Schmalzried, a California Orthopedist who co-developed the faulty ASR XL Acetabular Hip System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System. As you may know, the ASR lines of hip replacements have a failure rate of about 12-13 percent after 5 years. The plaintiff's lawsuit claims Dr. Schmalzried breached his fiduciary duty to the plaintiff by receiving millions of dollars from DePuy Orthopaedics in royalty payments, and that the doctor should have informed his patient, a man whose hip he operated on in 2006, that he had an interest in the product's success.

The case against Dr. Schmalzried is more the exception to hip replacement recipients suing their doctors than the rule. As Rochelle Rottenstein, principal attorney for the Rottenstein Law Group, says, "While we generally discourage our clients from suing doctors who have unwittingly implanted defective devices, the Schmalzried lawsuit is a unique situation, since that surgeon allegedly participated in the design of the ASR and was on DePuy's payroll."

If you received one of the 93,000 recalled DePuy ASR hip replacements, you may have a case against the company. While it's unlikely that your orthopedist is at all responsible, it is worthwhile to consult with a hip recall lawyer, such as those at the Rottenstein Law Group, to see if your orthopedist was influenced by DePuy in any way. You may need to obtain a second opinion from an unbiased orthopedist before taking action against the company.

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