Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Five lawsuits against manufacturers of pain pumps and pharmaceutical companies on behalf of 28 people were filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court this month, alleging fraud, breach of warranty and products liability, saying the makers of the products continued to market the pain pumps as mitigation for shoulder joints despite the specific use of those products not being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The lawsuits also allege that the pain pump devices caused a painful and debilitating condition known as postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (PAGCL), in which the cartilage in the shoulder joint wears away causing bone to rub against bone.

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning orthopedic and anesthesia health care providers and hospital risk managers not to continuously infuse local anesthetics directly into the intra-articular joint space because this use of anesthetics has led to a painful and debilitating condition known as chondrolysis, or the decaying and destruction of the cartilage.

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In light of a recent report released by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration that confirms the link between chondrolysis and pain pump use, Joseph A. Carrese, MD, MPH, an expert in bioethics, has issued an opinion stating that physicians have a responsiblity to inform former patients on whom they used the device of the possible risk.

It is Dr. Carrese’s opinion that “to do otherwise would be a failure of expected ethical and professional conduct, and in turn a failure of good clinical practice.”

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Things were looking promising for Florida State University quarterback Christian Ponder, until last Saturday, when he separated his right shoulder making a tackle after throwing his fourth interception against Clemson. He now faces surgery to repair a Grade 3 AC separation, which will bench him for the rest of the season.

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