Personal Injury Law

DePuy Offers $80 Million In Kickbacks And Compensation To Doctors And Promoters

By M. Brandon Smith

DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., the company involved in the recent global recall of 93,000 ASR hip implant devices, is now also under fire for allegedly offering surgeons kickbacks in exchange for promoting its products. Since 2009, DePuy apparently paid more than $80.08 million to nearly 200 physicians in the United States for promotion, research and consultation.

While DePuy discloses payments made to doctors on its website, it categorizes those payments as consulting pay, product royalty payments, or compensation for research, meals, airfare and other expenses. In 2009, those payments amounted to $47.9 million; and in the first 9 months of 2010, DePuy had paid out $32.9 million. Payments continued even as concerns about the devices' safety and performance were being raised.

This is also not the first time that DePuy has been suspected of suspicious payouts to physicians. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a criminal complaint against DePuy, alleging the payment of kickbacks to doctors for using their products. That complaint was eventually dropped after DePuy paid a fine and agreed to pay physicians only for legitimate consulting services. The most recent news about payouts, however, raises serious questions about DePuy's compliance with that agreement. For patients, the practice of paying out kickbacks to physicians potentially compromises the necessary relationships that form between patients and their doctors.

In this case, the physician kickbacks are particularly concerning because the physicians were using products that later turned out to be the subject of a major, global recall. Specifically, earlier this year, DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., which is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, issued a global recall of its ASR Xl Acetabular System Implants and DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System Implants. Patients who have received these devices may be required to undergo a second, revision, surgery to remedy the issues that the defective products present.

Patients who have received these devices should be particularly alert to symptoms indicating dysfunction, including: serious or chronic pain; inflammation or swelling; a loosening of the hip implant; bone fractures in the area of the hip implant. In addition, patients should be alert to the risks of cobaltism that are present when a metal-on-metal hip implant device—like those recalled—is utilized.

In light of the geographic reach of DePuy's apparent wrongdoing, patients who seek legal recourse will have their claims against DePuy consolidated into what is known as Multi-District Litigation for purposes of discovery and pre-trial matters. It is important that patients understand that their individual cases will still be heard on an individual basis in separate proceedings. However, given the number of patients affected and potentially seeking recourse, the federal court of the Northern District of Ohio will handle the pre-trial phases of litigation.

As claims against DePuy continue to become more complex—between the recall and now the alleged kickbacks to physicians—patients affected are strongly encouraged to seek the advice of an attorney to understand their rights and the best approach to seeking recovery.

We are happy to answer questions about the DePuy ASR recall from patients and family members. Feel free to contact us and schedule a time to speak about your claim and rights today.

Full post as published by Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer on January 19, 2011 (boomark / email).