Business Week Cover Story: Johnson & Johnson "Quality Catastrophe" - Michael Kelly of Walkup Melodia Kelly & Schoenberger Provides Insight on What Went Wrong

April 07, 2011 (Press-News.org) Bloomberg / Businessweek reports that after more than 50 product recalls in last 15 months, Johnson & Johnson, one of America's once great brands, has suffered a catastrophe. Consumer protection attorneys like Michael Kelly of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger are holding Johnson & Johnson to account for injuries to their clients.

According to the article's authors, Johnson & Johnson has allowed its quality control to wane as profits have increased. As a result, J&J is facing a growing number of lawsuits for recalled products, including hips marketed by DePuy Orthopedics, a subsidiary of J&J.

Although J&J denies that the devices are defective, the DePuy ASR Total Hip Replacement System was voluntarily recalled in August of 2010 for safety reasons. More than 93,000 of these devices have been implanted in patients worldwide (37,000 in the U.S.). Initial failure rates of between 12 to13 percent prompted the recall. However, recent medical journal articles are forecasting a potential failure rate at 6 years after implant as high as 49 percent.

When asked about the root problem leading to these recalls, Kelly commented : "This wasn't driven by science. This was driven by marketing." Kelly, a partner at San Francisco's Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger law firm, has filed 75 cases on behalf of patients implanted with the DePuy hips. One of Kelly's clients, Scott Broccoli, was interviewed for the article. He received a DePuy ASR hip implant in 2007, which failed last year. Broccoli summed up the sentiment of many defective prosthesis recipients: "I can't imagine that a company with their reputation and history would knowingly put this product on the market."

For more than 50 years, the attorneys of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger have successfully represented the rights and interests of people who have suffered serious injuries or lost loved ones as a result of the negligence and wrongdoing of others. As leaders in the areas of personal injury and wrongful death, the firm has helped to shape the laws of liability in California and throughout the country.

For more information about the DePuy hip replacement recall and related litigation, please contact Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger at (888) 799-3968 or e-mail mdavis@walkuplawoffice.com.

Additional Resources:
DePuy ASR Hip Replacement Recall Information Video (http://www.youtube.com/user/WalkupLawOffice#p/u/3/pQ6BHGPzuLQ)
Depuy ASR Recall Updates (http://www.walkupblog.com/)