J&J Hips Surgeon Says Failure Rate Alters View on Device
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The lead surgeon-designer for Johnson & Johnson’s recalled metal-on-metal hip implants testified that he wouldn’t have sold the device if he knew it would have a failure rate of 20 percent or more.
Thomas Schmalzried testified by videotape in state court in Los Angeles late yesterday at the first of 10,000 lawsuits to go to trial over ASR hips recalled by J&J’s DePuy unit. When J&J recalled 93,000 hips in August 2010, it said 12 percent failed within five years, requiring replacement, or revision, surgery.