Johnson & Johnson faulty hip implants issue
Committee to recommend quantum of compensation
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Jan 7: J&K patients suffering due to faulty hip implants sold by the healthcare giant Johnson and Johnson Pvt Limited will get adequate compensation as the Governor’s Administration has constituted a high-level committee to examine the cases and make necessary recommendations to the Expert Committee constituted by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that in the month of November last year the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had decided to ask all the States to form State Level Committees to examine the patients effected due to faulty hip implants manufactured by M/s DePuy International Limited, UK (M/s Johnson & Johnson Pvt Ltd) in order to make the process of obtaining compensation less arduous for such patients.
Thereafter, the Department of Health and Family Welfare (Drugs Regulation) of the Union Ministry vide Letter No. X. 11035/ 25/ 20015 – DFQC dated December 3, 2018 asked the Principal Secretary Health and Medical Education Department of J&K Government to ensure prompt action on the decision of the Ministry.
Today, Principal Secretary to Government, Health and Medical Education Department Atal Dulloo vide Government Order No.09-HME of 2019 constituted State Level Committee to determine the quantum of compensation in respect of faulty “Acetabular Surface Replacement (ASR) hip implants” manufactured by M/s DePuy International Limited (now M/s Johnson Pvt Ltd) and implanted in J&K State.
Dr Khursheed Ahmad Kangoo, Professor Orthopaedics, Government Medical College Srinagar is the Chairman of the Committee while as Dr Narinder Kumar Sharma, Professor Radiology, Government Medical College Jammu, Dr Majid Jahangir, Professor Radio Diagnosis and Imaging, Government Medical College Srinagar, Dr Sanjeev Gupta, Professor, Orthopaedic Government Medical College Jammu and B K Samantray, representative of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) under Directorate General of Health Services, Government of India are the Members of the Committee. Lotika Khajuria, Controller Drugs and Flood Control Organization J&K is the Member Secretary of the Committee.
“The Committee shall review the applications submitted to it by the effected patients and recommend quantum of compensation as admissible under appropriate law and medical management, if any, to the Central Expert Committee”, read the order, the copy of which is available with EXCELSIOR.
According to the sources, large number of patients from Jammu and Kashmir had developed severe complications following use of faulty hip implants in the surgeries conducted both in the State as well as in Punjab and other parts of the country.
“One such patient, a resident of Jammu, had developed such complications following use of faulty hip implants that he cannot walk now and is completely bed-ridden”, sources informed.
As per the data of the Union Health Ministry around 4700 ASR surgeries were carried out in India between 2004 and 2010 and objective behind the directive of the Ministry for framing State Level Committee is to identify such patients so that they can get adequate compensation as decided by the Union Government.
It is pertinent to mention here that an Expert Committee was constituted by the Union Ministry under the chairmanship of Dr Arun Kumar Agarwal, Ex-Dean and Professor of ENT, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi to examine the issue relating to faulty ASR hip implants. The Committee, after detailed examination of the issue, submitted its report along with final recommendation. The report was accepted by the Central Government in November-December last year.
Based on the recommendations, the Union Government constituted a Central Expert Committee under the chairmanship of Dr R K Arya, Director, Sports Injury Centre to determine the quantum of compensation. After series of meetings, the Dr Arya prepared a formula for determining compensation for the ASR victim patients.
The formula is based on the percentage of disability, age factor and risk factor as not only aged persons even youngsters had undergone surgeries for replacement of hip. “The compensation is being granted keeping in view the cost of living in the future, disturbance of routine life and mental agony”, sources said.
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