As New Jersey and Philadelphia DePuy hip recall lawyers, we have been posting information regarding the DePuy hip recall and how it is affecting patients. If you are one of the 93,000 patients worldwide who were fitted with a DePuy ASR hip implant, hopefully you have been following these posts regarding the lawsuits.
DePuy Recall Multi-District Litigation
As we have posted, over 100 DePuy hip recall lawsuits filed around the country have now been consolidated in the United States Court for the Eastern District of Ohio and Toledo under MDL2197. U.S. District Judge, David A. Katz, has been assigned to handle all of these Federal Court DePuy hip recall claims.
As a result, Judge Katz is responsible for coordinating all pretrial discovery and litigation concerning the nature of DePuy’s defective hip implant to promote judicial economy, prevent duplication of the same discovery in hundreds of cases, prevent the potential for hundreds of judges each individually ruling on the same issue, and to prevent inconsistent judicial rulings from these judges. The DePuy hip recall multi-district litigation (MDL) is a great way to streamline the DePuy hip recall litigation, conserve judicial resources, and save the parties money.
Although these DePuy hip recall lawsuits are consolidated under Judge Katz, each DePuy hip recall patient has his or her own individual case within the consolidated group case. If Judge Katz is unsuccessful in resolving any DePuy hip recall lawsuit before trial, that party’s case will eventually be sent back to where it was filed, and trial will proceed in that jurisdiction.
Thus far, the DePuy hip recall litigation consolidation has been effective. When Judge Katz was first assigned the DePuy case, there were only seven cases pending throughout the country. However, since the consolidation order, there have been over ninety-six DePuy hip recall lawsuits filed in over 34 different federal courtrooms. All of these DePuy hip recall cases are now consolidated under Judge Katz to be handled as is detailed above.
DePuy Hip Recall Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia
As New Jersey DePuy hip recall lawyers, we support the consolidation of any case filed in Federal Court. However, many New Jersey and Philadelphia DePuy hip recall lawyers prefer that these case be filed in State court and not be consolidated with the MDL being managed by Judge Katz. If you are a DePuy hip recall patient, you should contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, and to determine which jurisdiction is better suited to your case. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
Please check back as we will continue to post about the DePuy hip recall litigation and any other developments under Judge Katz.
The business community is thrilled by the bill the Senate passed this week. Of course they are; the new measures make it harder to get sued! Patient advocates, however, view the bill as a shield for medical providers who injure or abuse in nursing homes, or who practice careless, dangerous, and sub-standard medicine.
As New Jersey nursing home abuse lawyers, we encourage family members to work with the nursing home staff to make sure all nutritional aspects of the nursing home patient’s diet are examined. This is especially important to prevent these deadly bedsores and pressure ulcers. As the nursing home patient is often unable to get all of his/her nutrition from food alone, multivitamins and minerals may be needed to ensure the proper nourishment. This should be determined by the staff and made available to the nursing home patient. Research has shown that seniors need a variety of multivitamins and minerals to stay healthy, such as Vitamins, E, K, D and C for example. Proper vitamin supplementation should be assessed and determined by the nursing home staff, and then provided to the nursing home patient as part of their daily nutritional plan. 
Most DePuy hip recall patients have had a single DePuy hip replacement. However, many times, an orthopaedic patient will require both hips to be replaced in a surgery called a bilateral hip replacement surgery. Unfortunately, for those patients who have had a bilateral hip-replacement surgery with the recalled DePuy hip implant, the recall is twice as troubling because these patients will require more extensive surgery to remove the two DePuy hips. 
Galecio and Maria Rodriguez sued Dr. Jennifer Friedman and the Northwestern Memorial Physician’s Group after a serious birth injury permanently injured their son Mateo.
As a New Jersey and Philadelphia 
Several hospitals in the Netherlands use a checklist called SURPASS to assure that all the proper steps have been taken before a patient goes under the knife. Steps on the list include the confirmation of vital aspects of surgery such as the operating schedule, equipment availability, and surgical site. De Vries and his team found that of all of the medical errors that occured between 2004 and 2005, 29% of them could be attributed to at least one of the steps on the checklist. Additionally, 4 of the 10 deaths caused by medical malpractice could be linked back to the checklist.
The sixth tip nursing home abuse lawyers offer in preventing bedsores and pressure ulcers is to make sure a nursing home patient has proper nutrition. Many nursing home patients do not get proper nutrition because nursing home staff may be poorly trained, over-worked, or may not fully understand how closely nutrition is related to bedsore and pressure ulcers. Although nursing home staff are required by law to know the many ways to prevent a bedsore or a pressure ulcer, many nursing home staff do not get this training or education from the nursing home. This is not acceptable and is just another form of nursing home patient neglect. Nursing home staff must know the reasons for malnutrition. For example, patients may have difficulty feeding themselves, do not enjoy meals, or are taking medications which upset their stomachs. These patients need specific nutrition assessments to ensure that a bedsore or pressure ulcer will not form. 
One of the questions patients have asked is, “What is the defect that is causing these implants to fail?” Not surprisingly, DePuy Orthopaedics is not telling its DePuy hip implant patients anything of substance regarding why these DePuy hip implants are failing and why they have issued this hip recall. But, DePuy won’t be able to keep its secrets for long. Ultimately, because of the lawsuits, DePuy representatives will have to testify, under oath, about the hip recall. Then, DePuy hip implant patients will finally learn the truth. 
Lanette Gervato was 35 years old when she was suffering from, along with unexplained headaches, a multitude of symptoms. She visited the University of Florida’s Shands Teaching Hospital for treatment. After testing, it was determined that Gervato was suffering from a non-bleeding aneurysm in her brain. A Shands neurosurgeon would perform a procedure in which coils would be inserted into the aneurysm.