Marietta Injury Lawyer Blog

As a Georgia Civil Lawyer I've taken hundreds of depositions, but it has been a long time since I've read a transcript as entertaining as what I recently read in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. The deposition was taken in a case filed by title companies against Cuyahoga County in Northern Ohio. At issue in the case is whether deeds and other documents at the county recorder's office should be made readily available at a reasonable cost.

Below is an excerpt from the deposition transcript of the head of information technology for a county office. The plaintiff's lawyer wanted to know whether the county recorder's office had a photocopier. According to the Plain-Dealer it took nearly 10 pages of court transcript to figure that out. I imagine the Plaintiff's lawyer needed several aspirin after this line of questioning was completed.

---

Plaintiff's lawyer: During your tenure in the computer department at the Recorder's office, has the Recorder's office had photocopying machines?

Defense lawyer: Objection.

PL: Any photocopying machine?

Witness: When you say "photocopying machine," what do you mean?

PL: Let me be -- let me make sure I understand your question. You don't have an understanding of what a photocopying machine is?

Witness: No. I want to make sure that I answer your question correctly.

DL: Dave, I'll object to the tone of the question. You make it sound like it's unbelievable to you that he wouldn't know what the definition of a photocopy machine is.

PL: I didn't ask him to define it. I asked him if he had any.

Witness: When you say "photocopying machine," what do you mean?

PL: Let me be clear. The term "photocopying machine" is so ambiguous that you can't picture in your mind what a photocopying machine is in an office setting?

Witness: I just want to make sure I answer your question correctly.

PL: Well, we'll find out. If you can say yes or no, I can do follow-ups, but it seems -- if you really don't know in an office setting what a photocopying machine is, I'd like the Ohio Supreme Court to hear you say so.

Witness: I just want to make sure I answer your question correctly.

Continue reading "How to Give a Deposition in a Civil Case; Don't Act Like This Guy." »

At the end of August, 2010, DePuy Orthopedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, announced a DePuy Hip Replacement Recall expected to affect an estimated 93,000 patients. The DePuy ASR hip replacement system has been failing at unusually high rates in patients all over the country including Georgia. Implant loosening, fractures, dislocations, and potentially toxic metals entering the bloodstream have led to frequent repeat surgeries in patients that received DePuy ASR hip implants.

Particularly troubling is the fact that DePuy was able to bypass Food and Drug Administration testing by exploiting the implant loophole. A product such as a hip implant can be sold to the public without testing if it is a device that is similar to a product that has already been approved by the FDA for use on patients.

The DePuy implant is not the only hip implant system causing extensive post surgical complications, but it's the implant currently causing the most problems. A large number of people have been affected by the DePuy ASR implant, because Johnson & Johnson waited over two years after it first became clear there was a serious issue with the product to announce the recall and pull the product from the market.

While this recall has informed some, many patients are still confused. As a Georgia Product Liability Attorney I've spoken with many patients experiencing severe complications following their hip replacement procedure, and although some have received letters informing them of a specific recall, most have no idea what company manufactured their particular implant. One way to find out whether you have a DePuy hip implant is to call your surgeon and ask them.

Litigation is pending in State and Federal Courts across the country for injuries caused by the DePuy ASR hip implant system, with new Plaintiffs being added as they are discovered. Johnson & Johnson denies there is any problem with the product and is vigorously defending these suits.