In the last week, two devicemakers have been named in spine and orthopedic lawsuits.
Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Synthes on March 15 was ordered to pay Gary Lynn Rasmussen, MD, $20 million after one of its products was found to infringe on one of the orthopedic surgeon's patents. A federal jury in Massachusetts found that the "Balanced Sizer" product included in DePuy's Attune knee system infringes on a device invented by Dr. Rasmussen that reshapes existing bone and cartilage before knee replacement procedures.
Three hip replacement recipients are suing surgical devicemaker Exactech. The Exactech Connexion GXL recipients say their implants are defective and allege the company knew, but never warned them or their surgeons. All three plaintiffs say they suffered severe pain, decreased motion, and bone and tissue destruction because of early device failure.