Our firm is now litigation hundreds of suits against Johnson & Johnson for defective metal-on-metal implants. Their subsidiary, DePuy, marketed these implants to doctors as safer and longer lasting then other types of implants on the market. When failing DePuy ASR and Pinnacle hips were reported in England and Australia, DePuy blamed doctors for poor implantation. However, the truth came out on DePuy ASR hips when Johnson & Johnson announced a complete recall.
With the recent Risperdal court decision in December, 2011, we see the same corporate behavior: a judge has upheld a $327 million civil penalty against Johnson & Johnson for blatantly overstating the safety and effectiveness its antipsychotic drug. There have been similar whistleblower suits in other states for kickbacks, over-promotion and illegal marketing. Much of the damaging evidence was in emails, and we expect the same to occur in the DePuy ASR and Pinnacle litigations. The over-promotion of dangerous psychotic drugs is particularly harmful to the elderly, where drug companies convince nursing homes to use these drugs for much more minor ailments. Also, every taxpayer is hurt as Medicaid and Medicare is getting swindled for inappropriate medication.
