As New Jersey and Pennsylvania DePuy hip recall lawyers, we posted many times regarding the ongoing multi-district litigation pending in federal court in Ohio. As you know from previous posts, this multi-district litigation (“MDL”) has consolidated all the DePuy hip recall lawsuits which were filed in federal courts. In this post, we are going to give some background about Judge David Katz, the federal judge who now is presiding over these federal cases.
Judge Katz Highly Experienced with MDL
Judge Katz will be a welcome addition to the multi-district litigation of DePuy hip recalls. This is not the first time that he has handled a complex MDL. In the past, Judge Katz presided over litigation involving the contraceptive Ortho Evra. In that matter, the Judge received favorable approval ratings from both the defendants and the plaintiffs who brought the claim. In addition, Judge Katz’ background makes him an ideal candidate for DePuy hip recall litigation.
According to his bio, Judge Katz, an Ohio native, graduated from the Buckeye School of Ohio State University with a Bachelor’s Degree and also received his JED Degree in 1957. After law school, Judge Katz worked mostly in private practice in the city of Toledo, before being appointed to the bench by Judge Clinton in 1994. All DePuy hip recall litigants should welcome Judge Katz as the presiding judge for this litigation. By all counts, he is fair-minded and will give all recall victims an opportunity to seek justice in federal court.
As New Jersey and Philadelphia DePuy hip recall lawyers, we will continue to provide updates on the MDL and any state court DePuy hip recall litigation.
DePuy Hip Recall Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia
If you or a loved one are the recipients of a defective DePuy hip implant, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia. Let the DePuy hip recall lawyers at the Mininno Law Office work to earn you the full and fair compensation you need and deserve.
Whistleblower and qui tam claims do essentially the same thing; they allow employees to file lawsuits against their employers for fraud or other illegal practices. Many times, especially in the healthcare industry, companies engage in fraudulent advertising to increase popularity of a product. Pharmaceutical companies are largely guilty of committing this type of fraud. Creating false or untested uses for a certain drug, or offering physicians large amounts of money (kickbacks) to recommend and prescribe certain drugs is very much illegal, and equally as dangerous.
Today, we are reporting on the Stratford Nursing & Convalescent Center located in Stratford, New Jersey. The latest published report shows all of the violations found during the routine inspections for the two year period between November 2008 and October 2010. The Stratford Nursing & Convalescent Center had 33 cited nursing home violations on the two combined inspection dates. The facility’s citations included safety code violations, life safety code standard violations, and others related to abuse and neglect. The level of violations were mainly rated as being pattern or widespread violations, with at least four considered to cause immediate jeopardy to the residents health or safety. Stratford’s ratings are a sure cause for concern, and it is quite clear that immediate corrective action needs to be taken. The facility’s noncompliance with one or more standards has caused, or is likely to cause, serious injury, harm, impairment, or death to a patient or resident. 
White House aides have provided that President Obama is strongly opposed to placing caps on damages for injured patients, but would be open to utilizing other avenues of resolution, such as “health courts” or special arbitration systems. 
Bob Lugton, of Brisbane, Australia, was declared the first “Aussie” to join the DePuy hip recall lawsuit. Mr. Lugton filed suit when his DePuy hip implant failed only 18 months after having been implanted. As stated in previous posts, DePuy and Johnson & Johnson claimed that their hip implant would last as long as 20 years, so Mr. Lugton was a very unhappy man after his brand new hip failed so quickly. Like most DePuy hip recall patients, Mr. Lugton was also found to have cobalt and other metals leaking into his body from the wear and tear of his hardware. When asked why he joined the DePuy hip recall lawsuit, Mr. Lugton reportedly stated, “This is not for financial reasons”, but to let other people know of the devastating effects of toxic cobalt and chromium levels on his health and welfare.
As a family member of a nursing home resident, it is important to be aware of the signs and symptoms of nursing home neglect and abuse. Keep a close watch not only on your loved one, but on the facility in it’s entirety, for the following signs of neglect:
Chad Aders, 37, was prescribed a Duragesic patch in the ER by Dr. Bryan Lilly in July of 2004. The patch contains a very potent narcotic called Fentanyl that enters the bloodstream through the skin. Dr. Lilly prescribed 75 micrograms of the drug which is well over the manufacturer’s reccomendations. Aders took the prescription to the drug store, got it filled, applied the patch as he was told, and went to bed. He was found dead in his bed the following day. His children were seven, eight, and seventeen. 
We thank Mr. Schaberick for his comment on DePuy and Johnson & Johnson, and we do not completely disagree. However, our own research has shown that not all doctors who show up on the DePuy website have accepted honorarium or other monetary benefits to select the DePuy hip implant for their patients. However, as was pointed out by Mr. Schaberick, many of the orthopaedic surgeons did in fact receive significant monies and benefits from DePuy and Johnson & Johnson in return for selecting the ASR XL Acetabular complete or resurfacing implant systems. Mr. Schaberick is also correct that DePuy and Johnson & Johnson paid millions of dollars over the last several years because of violations of federal anti-kick-back laws.
It is important that nursing home staff be fully trained in how to deal with the special needs of nursing home patients so that physical abuse does not occur. It is also important that a patient’s family be aware of the signs of abuse. Some of the more obvious signs are bruising, cuts, unexplained marks, broken bones, and a variety of injuries in various stages of healing. It is also important to listen to the patient. A resident’s report of violent behavior, such as being hit or mistreated, must be investigated. Sometimes, a nursing home patient’s sudden change in behavior can be a sign of nursing home abuse or neglect and should absolutely be investigated.