J Unit Knowingly Marketed Faulty Knee-Device, Suit Says
J Unit Knowingly Marketed Faulty Knee-Device, Suit Says
Written by: Henrik Nilsson
Re-posted from Law360 (April 18, 2023, 10:20 PM EDT) — Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy pushed unsuspecting surgeons to use its faulty knee-replacement device, causing patients to experience pain and additional surgeries, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in North Carolina federal court.
Dwight Petty alleges in his suit that since the 2013 launch of DePuy Orthopaedics LLC’s knee-replacement device, Attune, the company marketed the device while ignoring thousands of reports submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration complaining that the implant’s tibial baseplate quickly loosened and required revision surgeries.
The company released an updated version of the device in 2016 but allowed the old product to circulate, according to the lawsuit.
“Although defendants obviously knew about the high number of Attune failures resulting in revision surgeries, they failed to warn surgeons, consumers and patients, and allowed the original, defective design to continue to be implanted by unsuspecting surgeons into unsuspecting patients, including plaintiff and plaintiff’s physicians,” Petty said.
DePuy aggressively marketed the Attune implant’s longevity and its ability to provide better stability, flexibility and efficiency in the knee. Patients were falsely promised that they would recover faster and engage in active lifestyles, according to Petty.
“Upon information and belief, defendants downplayed the health risks associated with the Attune device through promotional literature and communications with orthopedic surgeons,” Petty said. “Defendants deceived doctors, including plaintiff’s surgeons, and potential users of the Attune device by relaying positive information, while concealing the nature and extent of the known adverse and serious health effects of the Attune.”
Petty claims he received the first implant in March 2017, and by June of the same year, the FDA’s database contained approximately 1,400 reports of failures. About 633 of these resulted in revision surgeries, Petty said.
After his initial surgery, Petty still experienced pain in his left knee due to aseptic loosening. Revision surgery was performed in May 2020. He received the same defective Attune device and continues to require medical treatment, according to the suit.
DePuy’s products have been under scrutiny in court before.
In September 2022, a group of consumers alleged that the company’s metal-on-metal hip replacement released toxic heavy metals into recipients’ tissue. A Washington federal judge on April 4 sent the case back to state court, ordering DePuy to pay attorney fees.
In January, DePuy Synthes agreed to pay $9.75 million to settle allegations that it supplied a Massachusetts orthopedic surgeon with thousands of dollars worth of free devices for spinal surgeries, including those performed overseas on patients who were ineligible for federal health care programs.
Petty alleges negligence, gross negligence, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty of merchantability and unfair and deceptive trade practice. He seeks compensatory and economic and non-economic damages, judgment against DePuy on allegations of deceptive trade practices and attorney fees.
Neither Johnson & Johnson nor counsel for Petty immediately responded Tuesday to requests for comment.
Petty is represented by Lawrence Wooden of Wooden Bowers PLLC.
Counsel information for the defendants was not immediately available.
The case is Petty v. DePuy Orthopaedics LLC et al., case number 3:23-cv-00218, in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of North Carolina.
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