Our ankles are extremely valuable to our everyday lives.
While you may not often think about these bendable joints, they help us walk, balance our body weight, make it easier to put our shoes on, help us reach objects on high shelves, and allow us to move in the most comfortable way possible.
If you have ever suffered any type of injury to your ankle or have any type of medical condition that limits the mobility of your ankle joints, you know firsthand just how important ankles are to daily life, and how debilitating it can be when they are not functioning properly.
To help people suffering with impairments of the ankle, one major medical device manufacturer developed an ankle replacement system that is implanted through a surgical procedure.
While the device was touted as being highly beneficial and a must have for people suffering in pain and those with a lack of mobility, in reality, the device appears to be causing more harm than good.
Patients who have received the ankle replacement devices have complained of a number of serious complications, including developing osteolytic lesions which is also known as osteolysis.
Because of these issues the United Kingdom issued a recall in July of 2012 for all lot numbers associated with this particular ankle replacement system, as well as all associated replacement components.
Since the year 2009, there has been plenty of evidence that a large number of people who received the ankle replacement system suffered consequences such as osteolysis because of these medical devices.
If you are one of the many people who suffered because of the defective device, you should know that you may be entitled to receive monetary compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, as well as various other types of expenses.
A personal injury attorney who specializes in defective medical devices is your best ally and can review the details of your case from start to finish.
If you or someone you know suffered serious complications such as osteolytic lesions after an ankle replacement surgery, you should not hesitate to consult with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
The ankle replacement system is a modular type of system that is used in patients who are in need of total ankle replacement.
The system makes use of a unique prosthesis that does not utilize cement, but rather is cobalt and chromium based.
By the year 2009, the system was linked to a very high incidence rate of osteolysis, with more than fifty percent of implanted patients being affected by the condition.
It is believed that the osteolysis is occurring because the human body is reacting to small pieces of metal that are released from the components of the device.
Osteolysis causes healthy bones to become damaged, which in time causes them to soften and crumble.
In severe cases, osteolysis that has been linked to this particular ankle replacement system has resulted in patients needing to have their lower leg amputated.
An alert warning of the ankle replacement system being recalled was issued in July of 2012 by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the United Kingdom.
The warning stated that a large number of patients who had received the implant ended up developing osteolytic lesions as a side effect of developing osteolysis.
The MHRA has recommended that doctors throughout the United Kingdom identify all patients who have received the implant from the ankle replacement system in question.
The agency goes on to state that all of those patients should then be monitored closely on an annual basis for the development of osteolytic lesions.
If patients report any type of pain in their ankle, CT scans are recommended, as well as in cases where initial x-rays have shown the possibility of lesions forming.
Patients who are found to have minor lesions with little or no symptoms should have frequent follow up visits with their physicians.
Patients who have larger lesions with more noticeable symptoms may require further surgeries.
If you or someone you know has suffered symptoms of osteolysis or have developed osteolytic lesions because of undergoing a total ankle replacement with the system that has been recalled, you should know that you have valuable legal rights that need to be protected.
The best way to go about protecting your rights is to consult with a personal injury attorney who specializes in defective medical devices as soon as possible after your diagnosis.
A personal injury attorney who specializes in this area of the law is quite skilled in handling these types of cases and will take all steps necessary to hold all parties accountable responsible for their actions.
It is all too often that medical device manufacturers place profits ahead of people and rush their products to market without taking the time to complete all of the necessary tests and studies before making the items available for patient use.
This is simply unacceptable and should never be allowed to happen.
The manufacturers owe patients a particular duty of care to provide products that are known to be safe and those that do not cause more harm than good.
When this duty of care is breached for any reason, legal action can and should be taken.
For the most part, personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis, which means that you pay nothing up front, or as you case is progressing through the legal system.
Removing the worry of how to fund your claim can be quite comforting; especially during a time that is already difficult and stressful enough.
Compensation can be sought for a number of issues including past, present, and future medical bills, pain and suffering, a loss of income, emotional harm, as well as for punitive damages in some cases.
Punitive damages are a type of monetary award that is handed down by the court system as a type of legal punishment that is meant to do nothing more but to deter future similar acts from happening again to other innocent patients.