The August 2010 voluntary Depuy ASR Recall and subsequent Depuy Hip Class Action Lawsuit cases have revealed more problems than patients might suspect. Johnson & Johnson seems to be facing a never ending onslaught of product recalls, factory closures, lawsuits, and media scrutiny over quality control in multiple divisions.
CNN Money reported that Bill Weldon, the CEO of Johnson & Johnson has faced a painful year of recalls, lawsuits, and plant closures. Although the increasing recalls and other problems faced by Johnson & Johnson are often presented as symptoms of deeper issues within the company and the global healthcare system, a Johnson & Johnson PR representative told CNN, “The product recalls by DePuy Orthopaedics and Johnson & Johnson Vision Care are unrelated to the manufacturing and quality issues being addressed at [another J&J branch].”
A recent Lawyers and Settlements article reported on a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine about hidden payments to doctors from health care corporations. The article said that DePuy issued payments from $1 million to $8 million to doctors in 2007. Many scholarly articles published the following year by doctors who received payments from health care corporations failed to mention the payments, even when the articles related to products made by the companies in question, the study found.
References:
Drillick, Chumie. (September 14, 2010) “Patients Should Expect “Long Life” From their Joint Replacements!” Retrieved on September 20, 2010 from i-Newswire.
Kimes, Mina. (September 7, 2010) “Johnson & Johnson CEO Bill Weldon’s painful year.” Retrieved on September 20, 2010 from CNN Money.
Lawyers and Settlements Staff. (September 18, 2010) “Study: Some Doctors Fail to Disclose Ties to DePuy Orthopedics, Other Companies.” Retrieved on September 18, 2010 from Lawyers and Settlements.