Articles Posted in Personal Injury

Medtronic faces an increasing number of product liability and personal injury lawsuit. Most recently, a Louisiana man, filed a lawsuit alleging that the company’s Infuse bone graft caused unwanted bone growth along his spinal cord, which worsened his back pain following a lumbar fusion.

The plaintiff, Martin Gavin alleges that Medtronic concealed information about the risk of complications from the Medtronic Infuse bone graft.

What is Medtronic Infuse?

According to new medical research, metal-on-metal hip replacements may corrode faster than traditional types of artificial hip implants, such as those made from plastic or ceramic.

Experts speculate that the corrosion may be linked to an increased risk of local tissue reactions that require revision or removal of the artificial hip implant.

Researchers examined corrosion on the heads of metal-on-metal hip implants, and compared it to the corrosion found on metal-on-polyethylene implants, which have a plastic liner between the metal femoral head and metal acetabular cup. This study is published in the Journal of Arthroplasty,

The DePuy Pinnacle MDL that is consolidated in the Northern District of Texas, has had some new orders issued by the court.

Judge James E. Kinkeade, who is overseeing In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation (“MDL No. 2244”), has issued three new orders that will facilitate the discovery phase of the federal DePuy litigation.

Metal on metal hip implants are under fire for premature failure, metallosis, hip infections, elevated cobalt and chromium levels and the need for revision.

A Texas plaintiff has filed a toxic tort lawsuit against Chevron, DuPont, Exxon and other chemical companies, alleging that he developed leukemia from benzene exposure.

The benzene lawsuit was filed by Norvel Dorsey in January, in Jefferson County District Court in Texas. Dorsey named DuPont De Nemours, Chevron U.S.A., Exxon Mobil Corp. and some of its subsidiaries, Foster Wheeler Energy Corp., Gulf Oil Corp., Texaco, U.S. Steel and 4520 Corp. as defendants.

According to Dorsey, who worked as a pipefitter for various companies from 1960 until 1986, he was exposed to benzene in the workplace and through products made by the defendants. The lawsuit claims that benzene exposure led to the development of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The FDA is alarmed about the risk of complications with vaginal mesh used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. The Federal regulators are ordering manufacturers to conduct new medical studies on the surgical products’ safety.

FDA Notice Letter Sent

The FDA sent a letter to several medical device makers recently calling for the new postmarketing studies on transvaginal mesh. Many experts believe that this is the beginning of tighter regulations designed to protect women from bladder sling problems.

A New Jersey state court jury was unable to render a verdict in the most recent Accutane product liability trial. The plaintiffs had alleged that the acne medication Accutane caused a teenager to suffer inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as a result of Accutane side effects.

The Accutane product liability claim, was brought by the parents of Priya Tanna, who was 15 when she started taking the Roche medication to treat her acne.

Roche claimed that there was a 7-step warning process in place before Tanna began taking Accutane, and therefore, they are not liable for the injuries.

The Medtronic Infuse saga, is a case of the fox guarding the hen house. And guess who are the chickens?

Prior to its entry into the market in 2002, orthopedic doctors were excited about how the back surgery product known as bone morphogenetic protein-2 would revolutionize orthopedic medicine.

But instead of success in fusing degenerated spines with no complications, BMP-2 became a tainted biotech breakthrough associated with sordid corporate scandal involving many bit players.

Dillon Yeaman was awarded nearly $1 million in damages by a federal jury, which found baseball bat makers Hillerich & Bradsby liable for the design of the Exogrid Model CB71X, and for failing to warn of the bat’s dangers.

More than five years after a Norman High School pitcher was struck in the face by a line drive, he won a product liability claim against the maker of the aluminum bat used in the incident.

Dillon Yeaman was pitching against Westmoore High in 2006, when he was struck in the face by a batted ball. The impact fractured his nose and his orbital bones.