› $150,000,000 verdict in personal injury case
One of the three principal shoulder pain pump manufacturers facing lawsuits over serious injuries associated with the use of the pain pumps is no stranger to controversy. It was also engaged in an illegal scheme for which it was prosecuted for paying hundreds of thousands – and possibly millions – of dollars to physicians for using its hip and knee replacement products exclusively.
Pain pumps are devices designed to deliver medication directly into the surgical site to manage pan after surgery. While effective for pain management, physicians began seeing more and more patients suffering from a debilitating condition known as chondrolysis following use of shoulder pain pumps. This concern was validated in a recent study by The American Journal of Sports Medicine, which identified a specific type of chondrolysis, Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis (PAGCL), associated with the use of shoulder pain pumps. As a result, hundreds of people harmed by the devices have filed suit against the manufacturers of pain pumps.
Postoperative pain pump marketer I-Flow Corporation is facing more lawsuits, this time from a pain pump competitor over the package inserts I-Flow distributes about its On-Q pain pump. Zone Medical LLC claims I-Flow is misrepresenting latex exposure risks and putting patients and health care professionals at risk in order to gain commercial advantages.
Dr. Charles Beck, a well-respected orthopedic surgeon, recently issued a warning that a commonly used device designed to reduce pain after surgery is potentially dangerous when used in the shoulder joint space. The devices, manufactured by Stryker Corporation, I-Flow Inc. and other companies, deliver high concentrations of pain medication directly to a surgical site. According to the recently published article co-authored by Dr. Beck, they can cause permanent and debilitating damage to the shoulder. In discussing the matter, Dr. Beck stated:
