Four Corners: May 26

Monday night on Four Corners Quentin McDermott reports on ‘The Walking Wounded’, a follow-up to a previous story on prosthetic implant failures and the class action that is now underway.

“I want to see Johnson & Johnson in court. I want to see them punished for what they’ve done because I believe they knew well beforehand and didn’t stop putting these products in.” – Australian patient

When the world’s largest medical device and diagnostics company discovers one of its top products is deeply flawed and endangering the health of thousands of patients, the decent thing to do would be to withdraw it from the market and help the people affected.

Three years ago Four Corners revealed the shocking health impact on patients in Australia caused by the failure of a so-called revolutionary hip replacement device. Patients told how the prosthetic implant had given them cobalt poisoning, as metal fragments polluted their bodies.

This week Four Corners reporter Quentin McDermott reveals how healthcare giant, Johnson & Johnson, through its subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics, deceived doctors and patients using its ASR hip replacement implant. Talking to doctors and technology experts, and analysing a trove of internal company documents unearthed in a major court case in the United States, McDermott shows how Johnson & Johnson/DePuy not only refused to accept evidence the technology was flawed, but attempted to obscure the severe problems it was creating.

The extent of the apparent cover-up is breathtaking. It began when respected surgeons worldwide reported problems with the implant to the company. Instead of listening to their warnings, the company told each doctor they were the only ones having a problem. Isolated and confused by what was happening, the doctors were in effect being told they had caused the malfunction. The company refused to employ a toxicologist to assess the alleged problems. When evidence suggesting the hip implant was doing damage continued to mount, the company ignored it, instead responding by boosting its marketing campaign.

Finally, it took a Vietnam War veteran to expose the company’s behaviour. After his hip replacement went wrong, Bill Kransky took Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy to court in the US. Suffering from cancer, he lived long enough to win his case and a major compensation payout to provide for his family.

In Australia, preparations are under way for the trial of a class action against the company making and selling the implant, on behalf of hundreds of patients whose hip replacements have failed. The revelations in tonight’s program suggest that they have a strong case.

Monday 26 May, 8.30pm on ABC1