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Counterfeit Surgical Mesh Recalled

Posted by Todd Hendrickson in Medical Malpractice | Medical Products | Recalls | Recent Litigation - (0 Comments)

The FDA has recalled Bard Surgical mesh distributed by RAM Medical, Inc., a medical product distributor in Wayne, New Jersey.

Surgical mesh is used in hernia and other abdominal surgeries to strengthen or repair defects in the abdominal wall or peritoneum. For example, in repairing an abdominal hernia, a surgeon may use surgical mesh to create a “backing” that will reinforce the repair.

The counterfeit Bard surgical mesh ranges in size from 2″x4″ to 10″x14″. It is not properly sterilized, the edges are not properly finished and the weave is larger. This mesh can cause infection and failures of the repair, necessitating additional surgeries and other complications. The counterfeit mesh was distributed beginning October 21, 2008. You can review the recall notice here.

If you or a loved one had a surgery using mesh after October 21, 2008, and have experienced any infection, pain or other complications, you may have received the recalled mesh. If so, you have legal rights that need to be protected. Please call the Law Office of Todd N. Hendrickson at 314-721-8833, or click here to submit an inquiry.

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Wall Street Journal: “Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Help Doctors Curb Medical Mistakes”

Posted by Todd Hendrickson in Medical Malpractice - (0 Comments)

For those interested, see the September 28, 2010, Wall Street Journal article titled Medical Malpractice Claims Data Being Used to Curb Medical Mistakes. Among those interviewed are malpractice insurers who admit that medical malpractice suits are “reflective of deeply rooted problems” in the medical industry.

DePuy Hip Implant Recall

Posted by Todd Hendrickson in Medical Malpractice | Recent Litigation - (0 Comments)

DePuy, a division of Johnson & Johnson, has issued a recall on its ASR hip replacement components, including the ASR Hip Resurfacing System and the ASR XL Acetabular System. You can read about the recall here.
The DePuy ASR components are known as metal-on-metal components. Rather than using a poly-vinyl, ceramic or other material pelvic cup surface, the DePuy, like many other manufacturers, designed the ASR system to utilize a metal ball head and metal pelvic cup. The result is apparently is a disaster.
By some reports, more than 13% of these implants are failing within five years. The average him implant lasts 15-20 years before it wears out and needs to be revised. The highest rate of failure is in the smaller ASR implant sizes, 50mm and less, the most common sizes implanted in women.
If you have an ASR hip implant that has been revised due to early loosening or other problems, please contact the office of Todd N. Hendrickson immediately. Our office is aggressively investigating these cases and can help you. It is important that you be represented by an experienced medical malpractice and medical product liability lawyer, as DePuy will attempt to defend these cases by claiming that surgeon error in implantation. Don’t trust your case to a so-called “mass tort” law firm that doesn’t prosecute medical malpractice cases.
Contact our office today, by clicking on this link.

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John Cochran VA Medical Center Exposed Veterans to HIV and Hepatitis

Posted by Todd Hendrickson in Medical Malpractice - (0 Comments)

The John Cochran VA Medical Center appears to have exposed at least 1800 veterans to heapatitis and HIV. It appears that the problems stems from improperly cleaning and sterilizing dental instruments. Numerous news outlets, including CNN have reported that technicians at the John Cochran dental clinic hand-washed dental instruments. The practice of hand-washing dental instruments is reported to have begun in February 2009 and continued up until the initial news reports at the end of June.

Hand-washing instruments is a clear breach of sterilization protocols. If a patient has contracted HIV, Heapatitis or any other blood-born infection after receiving dental treatment at John Cochran VA Medical Center dental clinic, there is a good chance that the infection was a direct result of these negligent practices.

HIV and Hepatitis C are serious illnesses that can lead to death. HIV is the precursor to AIDS. Both HIV and Hepatitis are highly infectious. If you or a family member have received dental treatment at the John Cochran VA in the last two years, please contact The Law Offices of Todd N. Hendrickson, P.C. for a free consultation. You should immediately seek legal advice. If you have contracted a blood-born infection you may be entitled to significant compensation.

Click on these links to learn more aboutmedical malpractice and infection. To send a confidential e-mail message to attorney Todd N. Hendrickson, click this link: CONTACT. Please remember to give your name, e-mail address, telephone number and a brief description of when you treated at John Cochran VA Medical Center and the type of procedure.

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Pfizer Settles Wrongful Death Case Involving Neurontin

Posted by Todd Hendrickson in Medical Malpractice | Recent Litigation - (0 Comments)

Pfizer, Inc., the pharmaceutical giant, has agreed to settle a wrongful death suit alleging that the drug Neurontin caused a suicide. Neurontin is an anti-seizure drug approved for use to combat epilepsy. However, Pfizer has promoted the drug to treat chronic pain–a so-called “off label” use.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of an off-label use of Neurontin, contact medical malpractice attorney Todd N. Hendrickson to protect your legal rights.

For more information on the settlement, see the story on bloomberg.com.

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Hospital Fails to Report Doctor After Loss of Privileges

Posted by Todd Hendrickson in Doctors & Hospitals | Medical Malpractice - (0 Comments)

The St. Louis Post Dispatch, in an in-depth article, reported that St. Anthony’s Medical Center in south St. Louis County, failed to report Dr. Surendra Chaganti to the Missouri State Board of Healing Arts, the state board that “regulates” doctors.

Dr. Chaganti, apparently one of the busiest psychiatrists in St. Louis County, was accused of negligent care of multiple patients, according to the Post Dispatch story. When St. Anthony’s took action to revoke his hospital privileges, Dr. Chaganti responded by suing St. Anthony’s. Dr. Chaganti was represented in the suit by his brother, attorney Naren Chaganti. Attorney Chaganti also represented his brother in several other lawsuits brought against others who accused Dr. Chaganti of improper care. The suit against St. Anthony’s was ultimately settled with an agreement that Dr. Chaganti would resign his privileges but St. Anthony’s would not report his resignation or their action to the National Practitioner’s Data Bank, a federally mandated repository for information on doctor discipline and malpractice. The data bank is not available to the general public, but hospitals and malpractice insurers have access and use the information in making decisions regarding whether to grant privileges or offer insurance.

The problems with reporting physicians for sub-optimal care are myriad, but in this particular case two specific problems are highlighted. First, St. Anthony’s entered into an agreement, which was approved by a judge, to not report Dr. Chaganti to the data base. By the data base’s definitions, reporting should have occurred. Resignations made after action is taken to revoke privileges is a reportable event and St. Anthony’s should have reported him. Their failure to do so apparently only came to light after a series of events in which Dr. Chaganti attempted to obtain privileges elsewhere and the other hospitals suspected or discovered the failure to report.

The second problem this highlights is the fact that the National Practitioner Data Bank is kept secret from those who would most benefit from being able to know if a doctor has been found to have given bad patient care–patients! By keeping this information secret, the public is being deprived of its right to make an informed decision.

You can read the complete Post Dispatch story here.

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Dennis Quaid Testifies before Congress on Heparin Overdose

Posted by Todd Hendrickson in Doctors & Hospitals | Medical Malpractice | Medical Products | Products Liability | Recent Litigation - (0 Comments)

Dennis Quaid recently testified before Congress regarding the near fatal ovedose of his newborn twins at Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. See his testimony here on YouTube. Mr. Quaid testified very effectively on the need for FDA recalls of Heparin and the need to keep the path to the courthouse open for families devastated by medical negligence.Please, take the time to listen to Dennis Quaid’s story and his argument that the Supreme Court and Congress should not protect a drug company from liability because the drug and the labeling was approved by the FDA.

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Heparin Overdoses Still a Concern

Posted by Todd Hendrickson in Doctors & Hospitals | Medical Malpractice | Medical Products - (0 Comments)

Despite massive publicity, hospitals continue to mistakenly give infants adult doses of Heparin, a blood thinner. As reported by The Institute for Safe Medication Practices a Nebraska hospital has administered a deadly dose of Heparin, this time to a toddler about to celebrate her second birthday. The dose of blood thinner led to cerebral bleeding and brain death.This is by no means the first case and is far from the most famous. As I wrote in March 2008, actor Dennis Quaid’s new born twins were given near-lethal doses of adult formulated heparin at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills. See Celebrity Cases Highlight Medical Negligence Issues. Despite the massive publicity surrounding the incident and subsequent legal action, many hospitals have failed to take the necessary precautions and implement procedures to prevent continuing injuries and deaths.Heparin should be deemed a “high-alert medication” and special precautions should be instituted in every hospital to prevent dosing errors. As the Institute for Safe Medication Practices has reported for years, Heparin has repeatedly been among the top 10 drugs involved in serious, preventable injuries, disabilities and deaths reported to the Federal Drug Administration.If you suspect that you or a family injury has been harmed by an improper dose of Heparin, contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney immediately. In Missouri and Illinois, contact Todd N. Hendrickson. I will personally review your case.

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Hip Implants Withdrawn From the Market–Significant Number Are Failing in Just a Few Years

Posted by Todd Hendrickson in Medical Malpractice | Medical Products | Products Liability - (0 Comments)

DePuy, a division of Johnson & Johnson that manufactures orthopedic implants, including hip implant replacement systems, has withdrawn its ASR metal-on-metal implants, reports the New York Times. DePuy has touted this as its way of protecting patient safety, but in truth, evidence suggests that DePuy has known of this problem for years.

DePuy has informed doctors in a letter that the ASR had a higher-than-expected failure rate in certain types of patients. Data from a study out of Australia suggests that small statured patients, such as women, are at the highest risk. DePuy seems to indicate that the problem lies in how surgeons are installing the implants.

However, evidence suggests that the metal-an-metal implants can generate large amounts of metallic debris as they wear. This debris can cause severe inflammatory responses in some patients, damage muscles, soft tissue and bone. These reactions can lead to early need to replace the implants through revision surgery, in some cases in as little as 2 years. The normal expected life of such implants is 15 years and more.

Many implant manufactures began offering metal-on-metal implants a number of years ago as alternatives to the polyethylene (plastic) or ceramic components. With the metal-on-metal, both the ball and the cup (socket) are made from metal and, as they wear, they give off metal shavings and residue.

At this time it appears that DePuy and possibly other manufacturers did not sufficiently test these implant materials and, even after learning of unusually high failure rates, continued to actively market and promote the product. If you have had an implant fail within a few years after your surgery, you should immediately contact Todd N. Hendrickson. Our office specializes in medical malpractice and medical product liability claims and can help you fight for your rights. Call our office at 314-721-8833 for a free consultation.

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Metal on Metal Hip Components Linked to Early Failures

Posted by Todd Hendrickson in Doctors & Hospitals | Medical Malpractice | Medical Products | Products Liability - (0 Comments)

The New York Times is reporting that doctors are finding that “metal on metal” hip implants are failing at a much higher and faster rate than expected, leading to the need for early revision and replacement.“Metal on metal” refers to the materials used in the design. A typical hip implant consists of a femoral stem which is fixed into the femur or thigh bone. The hip socket (or acetabulum) is replaced with a “cup” of one design or another. A ball device is attached to the end of the femoral stem and fits into the acetabulur component, completing the ball and socket joint. Until about 10 years ago either the ball or the liner of the acetabulm was made of either ceramic or a poly plastic. Beginning in the late ’90s manufacturers began replacing either the ball or the cup or both with metal components. The theory was that the patient would achieve a longer life thus avoiding revision surgery to replace either the ball or the cup or both. The older ceramic and poly components had typical lifespans of 15 to 20 years.The theory is apparently proving to be false. As the is reporting, these metal on metal implants are failing much sooner than expected, some in as little as two years. What is occurring is the wear of the components is creating metal debris which is destroying soft tissue and bone. The estimate now is that 1 to 3% of implants are failing at this rate. However, since the metal on metal didn’t reach the peak of their popularity until 5 years or so ago, the real extent of the problem is still unknown. Given that 80,000 or more of these implants are used in primary replacements a year, that could be anywhere form 8,000 to 24,000 patients affected each year. Given that the typical hip replacement procedure can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 and lead to additional lost income and other losses, the financial impact on patients is potentially extensive.If you have experienced an early component failure, either due to pain or component loosening, or have had your hip implant revised for other reasons earlier than expected, you may want to consider a product liability action against the implant manufacturer. If you would like to explore this further, please feel free to contact me, attorney Todd N. Hendrickson. Although my practice is concentrated in Missouri and Illinois, I will consider appropriate cases throughout the United States. I have extensive experience and expertise in medical malpractice and medical product liability litigation, with particular emphasis in orthopeadic matters, including hip, knee and shoulder replacements. I have successfully litigated cases against hip implant manufactures for a variety of matters and I am uniquely qualified to review these types of cases.

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