March 28, 2017 - Thousands of consumers were affected by the Stryker recall in July 2012. The recall covered both the Rejuvenate and the ABGII. At the time of the Stryker hip recall, Stryker admitted the devices had a higher than normal failure rate, and were prone to fretting and corrosion. If you are an individual affected by the Stryker recall, you could have received a Broadspire letter. As one of the biggest insurance and claims adjusters in the world, Broadspire was brought in to protect Stryker’s interests. Johnson & Johnson used Broadspire during the DePuy ASR hip recall. The Broadspire letters went out to surgeons who implanted the Stryker hip implants, as well as patients, although many patients and surgeons had no valid address on file, so did not receive their Broadspire letter.
What is Included in the Broadspire Letter? Patients who suffered severe, negative health effects, related to the Stryker Rejuvenate or ABGII, may have been offered the costs associated with their Stryker hip revision surgery by Broadspire. While this may sound wonderful, Broadspire likely asked for something in return—namely that the removed Stryker implant be sent to Broadspire and that the patient allow Broadspire access to their medical records. Far too many people may have agreed to the terms of the Broadspire letter, not realizing that by signing the letter they may have significantly reduced their ability to recover damages from Stryker for their injuries.
Why You Should Think Twice About Signing the Broadspire Letter - Think about it this way: once you purchase the Stryker ABGII or Rejuvenate, and the device is subsequently implanted in your body, you own that implant, and nobody else is entitled to possess it. Once Broadspire is in possession of your Stryker hip implant, your attorney can no longer access it, therefore will be unable to show the corrosion and fretting on the device. Showing these things could be crucial in the event you have a lawsuit against Stryker for your injuries. Likewise, once Broadspire has access to your medical records, they are likely to use every detail included in your records to show you were to blame for the failure of the device rather than Stryker.
Stryker may attempt to show your Rejuvenate or ABGII failed because you had an underlying disease such as diabetes, or a prior infection. Stryker may claim misuse of the implant, stating you exercised too strenuously or too often, or that a physician made an error during the implantation surgery. Stryker could even claim you were overweight or obese at the time you received the Stryker implant, therefore the device failure was your fault, rather than Stryker’s. A well-qualified Stryker hip attorney can help to protect you against such pitfalls and fight to preserve your claims for damages from your defective Stryker hip implant.