J&J Hip Implants: Patients Refuse to Take Part in the Compensation Process

Alleging foul play, and targeting the government for its alleged hand in glove approach with the pharma giant Johnson and Johnson, the patients bearing the brunt of the faulty hip implants have now made a last ditch effort by appealing to the Union Health Minister J P Nadda.

In a letter submitted to the minister – written by 34 patients – it has been highlighted that the patients will not be a party to the compensation process unless the issues of transparency and accountability in the process are resolved. The letter reads: “[T]here is lack of transparency, lack of concern and lack of dialogue with the patients”. Speaking with Newsclick, Malini Aisola of AIDAN pointed out, “From the beginning, we have noted that the process of compensation has been shrouded in secrecy, no protocol has been followed.”  

The recent developments in the case have pointed to the discrepancies that the process has been riddled with. First of all, as suggested by the panel led by Arun Aggarwal, central and state level expert committees were to be constituted. This concern, until now, has not materialised into any form of concrete action. The patients have reportedly urged the government to take them on board the compensation process several times, however, instead of giving more representation to the patients, the government gave more stakes to J&J in the negotiation process.

Also Read: Johnson and Johnson Hip Implants: Compensation Only an Eyewash

Aisola adds, “To us, it seems like is a direct collusion between the government and the firm, where they have mutually agreed to the course of action that needs to be initiated in this case. They want to decide the compensations and brush aside the issue, since many patients are not even recognised currently, there will be no such financial liability.”

The 34 patients, who have sent the letter to the health minister, have categorically pointed out that J&J is being given enormous power in the compensation process, while the patients have not been consulted even once. Previously, the patients had also convened a press conference in the national capital, demanding that their concerns should be heard by the government; however, no negotiation was initiated with them.

The patients who suffered tremendous problems because of the faulty hip implants of J&J are also perplexed over the tedious documentation process they are being required to initiate. So far, only 1,032 of the more than 4,500 patients have been recognised. Aisola says, “The adverts in the newspapers have also directed the patients to reach out to the government, and not the firm”

Newsclick had previously reported on the findings of the committee which had directly accused the Indian arm of Johnson & Johnson of suppressing facts on the adverse effects of the faulty hip replacement systems it imported and sold to be used in surgeries of hundreds of patients. The report also mentions lapses on the company’s part in informing the national regulator of the exact number of patients who used these devices. Now, questions are being raised over the role of the regulator. Johnson & Johnson recalled its faulty hip implant on August 24, 2010, but it took Indian regulators almost two years to ban its import and cancel its license. This, despite the fact that the regulator, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, which comes under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, was informed of the global recall in 2010 itself. Irrespective of these damning facts, J&J has not accepted its responsibility; it has only stated that it will help out the government, and it will cooperate in the process. Until now, J&J has not been held criminally accountable over the same.

Also Read: Johnson & Johnson To Face Heat Over Faulty Hip Implants

The government has time and again stated that it cannot compel J&J to provide compensation under the current law. “This is absolutely not true, under the Drugs and the Cosmetic Acts, the government can very well do so. It is a question of political will and the hand in glove attitude it has,” says Aisola. The US pharma giant got the license to import the hip replacement devices in India in 2006. By the time it was recalled worldwide in 2010, an estimated 4,700 ASR implant surgeries had been done in the country. Last month, a government panel recommended that J&J pay compensation of at least Rs 2 million ($27,812) to each patient who received an ASR hip implant in India – to an estimated 4,700 people.