Johnson & Johnson (J&J) was heavily criticized when it hired BroadSpire Services Inc. to handle the DePuy hip replacement recall.  Some critics claimed that to cut down on the expenses entailed in facing all complaints filed following the recall, DePuy is outsourcing the handling of the recall. J&J claimed that the recall will not have a material adverse effect on its finances; however, this may not be the case anymore with some artificial joint manufacturers talking of offshoring in wake of medical device excise tax.
 
The only way to correct those affected by the Depuy recall is for them to undergo revision surgery. BroadSpire is the kind of firm that manages workers compensation and other medical claims on behalf of insurance companies and employers. BroadSpire would offer medical coverage to patients implanted with the DePuy ASR hip replacement who would need to undergo a revision surgery with the DePuy recall.  
 
It has been alleged that with BroadSpire issuing medical authorizations to some of the affected patients, it is attempting to gain access to medical records which J&J would not normally get a look at unless the patient was represented by an attorney. This also allowed the patient’s doctors to talk with BroadSpire doctors as part of the review process.  Signing a medical authorization, however, may not be to the patient’s best interest because it waives their protected rights to medical privacy and the information obtained can actually be used against them in the review of their potential claim.
 
Should Broadspire determine that a patient needs a revision surgery, they may only agree to cover the patient’s out-of-pocket costs, not all expenses that an affected patient is entitled to. They could also require for the revision surgery to be done by a doctor on J&J’s payroll and not the patient’s doctor. Signing agreements could put the patient at a disadvantage as it could preclude them from filing a claim at all.   
 
 “Broadspire is paid to protect the interests of Johnson & Johnson, not the patient. There are several issues associated with that, such as whether or not the patient’s health insurance and/or Medicare are going to require money back from any settlement through Broadspire or whether Johnson and Johnson will satisfy any associated liens,” said Attorney Davis Ennis. By getting an attorney, Ennis said that patients would be assured that the attorney has an ethical obligation to do what is in the best interest of their client, who will be protected with the attorney/client privilege. “There are many complicated legal issues in these Mass Tort cases that need to be handled by an experienced attorney who deals with these issues on a daily basis,” he said.
 
The noise created by the Depuy hip replacement recall is not expected to die down soon because there were 93,000 people worldwide who received the DePuy hip implants. More complaints are expected to be filed especially that DePuy accounts for nearly 4,000 of the 5,000 complaints received by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since January so far.

References:

theopenpress.com/index.php?a=press&id=117127

walkuplawoffice.com/CM/DefectiveMedicalDevices/BroadspireAdviceForHipRecallVictims.asp

consumerinjurylawyers.com/DePuy/Broadspire

bnet.com/blog/drug-business/how-j-j-did-an-end-run-around-the-lawyers-in-hip-replacement-recall/9745