Randy Barnhart

Dumping Defective Hip Implants Overseas

The Trial Lawyer, A Magazine for Trial Lawyers & a Voice for Justice, re-reported an important article in the N.Y. Times about how non-FDA-approved hip implants were shipped off-shore instead. Here's an excerpt demonstrating the typical shift-the-blame stance taken by manufacturing conglomerates regarding the risks of their defective products:

Before the recall, DePuy long defended the articular surface replacement device, saying that any failures associated with it reflected failures by surgeons to properly implant the hip cup. The surgeons who performed the study of the resurfacing version of the device that was rejected by the F.D.A. were handpicked by DePuy and included the model’s designers.

Dr. Antoni Nargol, an orthopedic surgeon in England who worked on the study that DePuy submitted to the F.D.A. and later became a critic of the device, said in a telephone interview that the company had never informed him that its application for approval in the United States had been rejected.

Thousands of people now face pain and injury due to defective hip implants. Contact the firm if you have questions about the safety of your hip implant and your legal rights.

Trial Talk Article on Protective Orders

Read my article from the latest edition of Trial Talk, the official magazine of the Colorado Trial Lawyers' Association.  Here, we discuss the ever increasing use of protective orders in civil litigation as a means of hiding corporate information concerning public safety hazards.

Download Barnhart Hailey TT Dec 11-Jan 12

Auto Electronic Control Systems and Your Safety

As a long-time products liability lawyer fighting the auto manufacturers for negligently if not also knowingly allowing their defective products to cause their loyal customers serious personal injury, I was interested in the recent statement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding a report on electronic control systems released by the National Academy of Sciences:

NHTSA commissioned the panel of National Academy of Sciences appointees to comprehensively review electronic control systems. While the auto manufacturers quack "safe, safe, safe," NHTSA stated that it needs to better understand the causes of unintended acceleration in passenger vehicles. So there is more than one cause? There is more than the supposed cause advertised by the manufacturers - lead foot on the gas pedal?

On its website, NHTSA states: The agency "has already taken steps to strengthen its expertise in electronic control systems while expanding research in this area — and the agency has considerable experience dealing with vehicle electronics issues in its research, rulemaking, and enforcement programs. But, NHTSA will continue to evaluate and improve every aspect of its work to keep the driving public safe, including research to assess potential safety concerns and help ensure the reliability of electronic control systems in vehicles. The agency will also further refine its strategic plan to address any potential technical and policy issues."

Potential safety concerns? There is nothing potential about the facts of electronic systems going haywire. Potential technical and policy issues?

Update - February 3, 2012: see this article, Electronics in Autos Pose New Safety Issues, Scientists Say, in the Insurance Journal.