What about the patients who had a Stryker Rejuvenate hip implanted?
It’s fascinating to read the news about Orthopedic implant maker Stryker Corp’s decision to recall certain modular-neck stems used to correct hip biomechanics. The reason for the recall is because of the potential risks of the implant fretting and corroding inside of the patient.
Who pays my wages when this hip has to be replaced?
Seriously, that is the concern? Is no one willing to say that the patients are the primary concern! Rather, here is what you find:
The company, has terminated the global distribution of Rejuvenate and ABG II stems. Think about that for a minute. A company decides to stop global distribution. Their reason seems noble - they want to evaluate data related to these products. What data are they talking about? Are they going to be sharing the data or results with us? We don’t know!
Wall Street’s response is that that Stryker’s recalling its Rejuvenate and ABG II modular hip systems will probably bring back worries over other manufacturers’ products. Wall Street is so concerned that analysts are “reiterating a hold rating on the stock”! That’s not what our clients call great news.
Stuart Simpson, Vice President and General Manager of Hip Reconstruction said: “Following this action, we will work with the medical community to better understand this matter as we continue to evaluate the data.” Again, great!
But, then what will you do? You see, there are real people with real jobs and real families that need more than promises to evaluate data.
In hopes of finding some more answers, I wanted to go to the source. So I went to Stryker’s FAQ’s. I’ll sum up the advice from their webpage: If you have symptoms of a failing hip, call your doctor. If your hip doesn’t hurt now but was recalled, sit tight and listen to your doctor. Any other questions? Stryker says “Call us”. This doesn’t help me advise anyone with a recalled Stryker hip.
Nowhere do they give any advice that my clients want to know, such as, “Who pays my wages when this hip has to be replaced?” or, “Will my new healthcare policy pay for this?” or, “Who will help take care of me during my recovery?” or even, “My doctor says I need this out and he said he is going to bill me, not Stryker. Is that fair???”
Stryker Orthopaedics decision to voluntarily remove Rejuvenate and ABG II modular-neck stems and terminate global distribution of these products is a good thing. Following post-market surveillance data that may be predictive of a trend is a good thing. Not advising patients that they have a right to not be the recipients of a failed medical device, well, not so good. I guess they figure they can leave that to us, the lawyers.
We continue to receive calls from patients who want help. And, we will help those who need us to represent them. So in the spirit of the Stryker website’s FAQ’s section, if you have any questions, The DiCello Law Firm would like to help. If you believe you have been the victim of a failed, recalled Stryker Hip, call The DiCello Law Firm and we will be happy to discuss your case.
Click here to learn more about how the DiCello Law Firm can help those injured by the Stryker Rejuvenate Hip Implants
Click here to learn more about Stryker's voluntary recall of their Rejuvenate and ABG II hip implants.
By: Mark DiCello