When will companies act responsibly?

According to the NY Times, the Food and Drugs Administration has been getting complaints about the failure of hip replacements products made by Johnson & Johnson for the last two years. Since the start of 2008, the FDA says it’s received about 400 complaints from people who received these devices. Now the company says it’s recalling these products because data shows “higher-than-expected rates” of patients needing a revision surgery.

This is Johnson & Johnson’s 11th recall since September. The company is already under scrutiny by federal prosecutors for other major recalls it’s had this year… the biggest one being a recall of millions of bottles of Tylenol and cold medicines made for children and adults. That recall led to a lot of negative news attention and one of their plants being shut down. And just this month the company started receiving criticism from the FDA for illegally marketing “an unapproved” knee device.

My question is when will companies who make food and products that can affect people’s health start to take responsibility? And how many complaints does the FDA have to get before they step-in, investigative, and protect consumers. What do you think? How do you feel about this?

Also, if you’ve been hurt by a product, like a hip replacement device, call my office at 702-240-0000, text us at 24-0000, or go to edbernstein.com

-Ed Bernstein

J&J unit recalls hip replacement products
By Linda A. Johnson, AP Business Writer

TRENTON, N.J. — Johnson & Johnson's artificial joint business is recalling two hip replacement products, just two days after getting hit with a government warning that it is illegally marketing two other products. It is the 11th J&J recall since September.
Find this article at: USA Today