Zimmer Recalls Persona Knee Replacement Components

On March 12, 2015, Zimmer issued a voluntary recall of the Persona Trabecular Metal Tibial Plate following an increase in complaints of loosening and radiolucent lines (x-ray evidence of separation of the metal plate from the bone). The loosening of the device can result in severe pain and the need for revision surgery.

According to the FDA, this recall affects 11,658 of these knee components worldwide. Zimmer distributed the recalled Persona Trabecular Metal Tibial plates in at least 25 states and at 13 major Veterans' Administration medical centers throughout the U.S. from Nov. 29, 2012 until Jan. 23, 2015. This recall does not involve the femoral component or cemented tibial plates.

Zimmer marketed the Persona Knee as the “most clinically successful knee replacement more personalized than ever.” Yet, patients who were implanted with the Persona Knee have experienced serious problems or needed revision surgery.

Complications can include:

•       Loosening of the implant

•       Pain

•       Limited mobility

•       Numbness or stiffness in the leg

•       Appearance of radiolucent lines on x-ray

•       Early implant failure of the knee implant

•       Need for revision surgery

If you or someone you know received the Zimmer Persona Trabecular Metal Tibial Plate and have experienced complications, please call Booth Samuels at (866) 515-8880 or by email at booths@pittmandutton.com

Medical Identity Theft

We all have read about the massive data breaches in the news over the last few years. The Target breach, the Mapco breach, and the Anthem breach are but a few. The thought of some far-away computer hacker in a basement in Russia, or the far-East, is nothing foreign to us these days. Cyber-security systems, no matter how seemingly airtight, are vulnerable. We are all at risk. It seems every week, there is a story of another large company that was hacked and our personal information was stolen.

But how is your personal information used? A lot of times, your information is sold on the internet in bulk around the world (see my previous blog post). The purchasers of stolen information use credit card numbers to buy goods or pay for services. Sometimes they file false tax returns using your information to steal your rebate or claim one of your dependents on their return.

However, an alarming new trend is occurring in the world of identity theft and it is medical identity theft. Thieves use your personal information to receive treatment at hospitals and clinics, get prescriptions, or buy medical equipment. Usually, the health care provider is nowhere in your vicinity or provides treatment for a condition you do not have.

Victims sometimes only find out when they get a bill or a call from a debt collector. They can wind up with the thief’s health data and history in their own medical charts. A patient’s record may show she has diabetes when she does not, say, or list a different blood type—errors that can lead to dangerous diagnoses or treatments.

Adding insult to injury, a victim often is not allowed to fully examine his own records because medical-privacy laws such as HIPPA protect the thief’s health data. All the while, hospitals sometimes continue to hound victims for payments they did not incur.

To make the situation more alarming, medical identity theft is growing. According to a recently published survey, medical identity theft affected 2.3 million adult patients in 2014 versus 1.4 million in 2009. Another report published in February estimated that computer-data breaches of personal health information affected more than 40 million patients from 2009 through 2014.

Such identity theft has led about 40 companies, including Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Aetna Inc., to form the Medical Identity Fraud Alliance. Some hospitals have turned to biometric screening to confirm patient identities. Also, unlike in financial identity theft, health identity-theft victims have a much more difficult time clearing the illegal bills because there is no health-care equivalent of the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which limits consumers’ monetary losses if someone uses their credit information.

NPR Reports On Vaccine Court

The Office of Special Masters of the United States Court of Federal Claims, or as it is commonly referred to as the “Vaccine Court”, has been in the news recently. This little-known Court handles all vaccine-related injury claims in the United States. Created in 1986, the Court is tasked with finding if an injury is related to a vaccine, and then determining the amount of compensation.

The process was intended to be more non-adversarial than our traditional civil courts, but in practice, it mirrors our civil courts more than it should. A petitioner’s burden of proof is a ‘preponderance of the evidence’ standard- meaning it is more likely than not that the vaccine caused the claimed injury. Getting a medical professional to testify to this is often difficult.

NPR this month published two pieces on the Court and the hardships faced for those who are not afforded justice. Receiving just compensation for injuries is a steep mountain to climb for those who are injured.

To read the articles, click here and here.

Booth Samuels is admitted to practice in the Federal Claims Court where he handles vaccine-related injury cases. If you or a loved one were injured by a vaccine, please contact him for a case evaluation toll-free at 1-866-515-8880, or by email at booths@pittmandutton.com.