The University of Missouri has settled claims over ‘BioJoint’ knee surgeries for $16.2 million, in what appears to be one of its largest public payouts in recent years.
The surgeries in question used the BioJoint system, a “biological joint restoration” which involves replacing parts of the knee with bones or cartilage from cadavers to treat arthritis or joint damage. This technology was pioneered by James Stannard, MD, and veterinarian James Cook, DVM.
The 22 plaintiffs, some of whom were minors, allege that they were not informed about the highly experimental nature of the BioJoint knee surgeries, with a failure rate of as high as 86%. This often required patients to have additional corrective surgeries or knee replacements. Some plaintiffs said that the surgery was pitched to them as a way to avoid a total knee joint replacement. They also allege that Dr Stannard negligently allowed Dr Cook—a veterinarian surgeon—to perform parts of the surgery without supervision.
The University denied wrongdoing, and settled without admission of liability or wrongdoing after claims against the defendants, Dr Stannard, Cook and another employee were dismissed.
“It’s not uncommon to have vets as part of your research team, but it would be uncommon to have them as part of your clinical patient care team,” said Patrick McCulloch, MD, vice chairman of Houston Methodist’s orthopaedic surgery department.
“You have to be licensed as a physician to perform surgery on a human being,” added Jeff Howell, executive vice president of the Missouri State Medical Association.
A key part of the plaintiff’s case involved false advertising, including local airing at the Super Bowl and at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, and which they claim led them to the procedure. It was speculated that the false advertising claim made the settlement amount larger than the medical malpractice suit alone.
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
