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DePuy Gets Help From Big PHRMA’s Protector

| Apr 16, 2013 | DePuy Hip Replacement, Drug and Medical Device Litigation

In the current Chicago trial of Carol Strum vs. DePuy, J&J must tell the jury its conduct with the DePuy ASR was reasonable and the ASR is safe.  J&J needed to bring a neutral person whose only concern is safety for consumers, who looking at only the facts, could tell the jury how reasonably J&J acted so the jury could realize J&J had only the pure interest of the DePuy ASR users at heart. (In Re DePuy ASR Hip Litigation, No. 10-L-10506, Cook County Circuit Court).

Where does one go to find such a person?

Becker & Associates.

Who are they?

Becker & Associates is the go to firm for the industry’s giants whose troubled experiences include allegations of defects, improper marketing, whistle-blower actions, civil and criminal complaints.  Their clients include Abbott (Depakote), Allergan (Botox), AMGEN (Aranesp), Astra Zeneca (Seroquel), Boston Scientific (trans vaginal mesh), C.R. Bard, (trans vaginal mesh), Glaxo Smith Kline (Avandia), Novartis (Ritalin), industry association PHRMA (the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America), and Reed Smith, the law firm that often defends drug and device companies in defective device cases.

What exactly does the protector of giants do?

It protects their financial interests and puts the right spin on difficulties while claiming, “Our work is grounded in good science, a focus on safety, and a sophisticated understanding of business needs.”  Business Needs?

After the $8 million dollar verdict in Kransky vs. DePuy, the J&J folks needed someone with a sophisticated understanding of its business needs facing potentially ten thousand cases for defects in the DePuy ASR.

So when a witness was needed, J&J went where PHRMA’s troubled giants usually go and found the services of Timothy Ulatowski, who was with the FDA for 25 years in various capacities.  According to Becker & Associates website, Mr. Ulatowski has:

“proven expertise advising industry on regulatory issues, assessing compliance and enforcement actions, evaluating pre-market documents, collaborating with stakeholders with diverse interests, and resolving complex technical and scientific problems. As a Director with BECKER CONSULTING, Mr. Ulatowski provides total product life-cycle consulting, helps guide the development of the firm’s medical device practice, and provides tailored technical solutions for clients.”

Click here to read the full profile: Timothy A. Ulatowski

Mr. Ulatowski, who received his BS in Microbiology from Pennsylvania State University, and his MS in Physiology with a Biomedical Engineering emphasis from Georgetown University, utilized his skills and proceeded to tell the jury in Carol Strum vs. DePuy that he believed the company’s post market surveillance complied with federal laws and regulations.  Presumably, after admissions of co-inventor Thomas Schmalzried and the testimony of J&J President Andrew Ekdahl, DePuy wanted no more surprises. Undoubtedly using Ulatowski’s “tailored technical solution skills” J&J and the DePuy ASR got just what it wanted.

Approximately 93,000 DePuy ASR were subject to a global recall and over 10,000 cases are pending in California and the MDL. Thousands of hip implant recipients have experienced pain, dislocation, fracture, toxic poisoning, and were forced to have revision surgery to remove the defective DePuy ASR.  It has long been recognized that all metal implants–and metal-on-metal bearings in particular–corrode and cause a release of metal ions (particles).  Because cobalt and chromium have been shown to be carcinogenic and mutagenic in human and animal models, systemic toxicity and cancer risk are considered to be possible disadvantages of the metal-on-metal articulation.  These wear patterns were well-known long before DePuy sold its ASR.

DePuy ASR Hip Replacement Linked To Metal Toxicity and Additional Surgery

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0r5h7VNZQ?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

The lawyers at the Brandi Law Firm are representing a number of people with cases pending against the manufacturer of the DePuy ASR in the California JCCP in San Francisco and in the MDL.  Please contact the DePuy hip replacement failure attorneys at the Brandi Law Firm today (1-800-481-1615 or email us) to talk with a Johnson & Johnson DePuy ASR recall lawsuit attorney.

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