As New Jersey and Pennsylvania DePuy hip recall lawyers, we have been asked by patients, “How do I know if my surgeon used a DePuy hip implant? After all, there are literally dozens and dozens of different hip implant manufacturers, yet only a certain few of these hip implants have been recalled. Obviously, one way is to contact your doctor directly. However, many DePuy hip recall patients have had difficulty reaching doctors either because the doctors have retired, moved away, or do not have access to the operative records of the DePuy hip recall patient. Although contacting your hip replacement doctor is a good start, the only true way that a DePuy hip implant patient can know for sure is to look at the records from the hospital where the surgery took place.
Doctors and Hospitals Are Required to Put an Implant Record in a Patient’s Chart.
All hospitals and surgical centers where hip, knee, and other joint replacement takes place are required to have a method and system to track hip implants and other implants. For example, the nationally recognized Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) requires that any JCAHO-accredited organization have a dedicated system to record the manufacturer’s name and type of implant used.
Under this system, all DePuy hip recall patient should have a specific medical record in their chart which will show which DePuy hip implant products where used. Specifically, for DePuy hip recall patients, there should be a label taken directly from the package that was opened up in the operating room and affixed in the chart. This DePuy label should identify the DePuy hip replacement system (e.g. ASL XR, Pinnacle, etc), the model number, and serial number for the DePuy hip implant.
Any potential DePuy hip recall patient, should immediately call the medical records department of the hospital or surgical center where the hip implant surgery took place, and specifically ask for a copy of the record which contains the product label used in their surgery. This is the best and only way to know for sure if your surgeon utilized the recalled him implant manufactured by DePuy.
DePuy Hip Recall Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia
If you are the recipient of a defective DePuy hip implant, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia. The defective product attorneys at the Mininno Law Office are skilled at earning full and fair compensation for victims of corporate negligence.