Are you familiar with the current batch of medical manufacturer lawsuits? If not, you should be. Not only for yourself, but also for your loved ones.
These lawsuits are for companies that have produced subpar medical equipment that has been put on the market and into our bodies, endangering our health and wellbeing.
Here is a list of medical equipment that currently have recalls:
Hip implants
Hip replacement is a surgery commonly talked about as a part of aging. Close to 300,000 hip replacement surgeries happen each year. Unfortunately, the past decade has seen a slew of court cases suing the manufacturers of some of the hip replacement devices, namely the metal-on-metal devices that leak toxic chemicals into patients.
Companies that have been or are currently being sued include:
Medtronic Bone Graft system
Bone grafting involves replacing missing bone in order to fix bone or joint problems. Medtronic, the most well-known medical technology company, created a bone graft system called the Medtronic Infuse.
Patients who had bone grafting procedures done with the Medtronic Infuse began to experience a number of side effects, including nerve damage, respiratory failure, paralysis, and even death.
What was the cause? Doctors began using the system for off-label purposes, knowing that it was made for only one purpose — spinal infusion.
This resulted in patients receiving too much of a genetically-engineered human protein, which brought on the side effects.
Knee Replacements
Medical device company DePuy Synthes had to issue a recall on its Attune knee replacement system. The company, the medical devices unit of Johnson & Johnson, failed to receive FDA approval before putting it on the market.
The device had a part that would detach and embed itself in the surrounding tissues. Complaints from patients include instability and wobbliness, atypical warmth and swelling, nerve damage, and infections caused by plastic and metal shavings from the device.
Vaginal Mesh
Vaginal mesh is used to treat pelvic floor disorders. But for some women, the vaginal mesh implants caused even more harm. Some of the side effects experienced by these women are ongoing pain, urination issues, infections, mesh eroding into or perforating tissue and organs, and recurring pelvic floor issues.
Companies that are involved in current vaginal mesh lawsuits include Ethicon (a division of Johnson & Johnson), Boston Scientific and C.R. Bard.