The University of Missouri has agreed to pay $16.2 million to resolve several lawsuits over knee surgeries involving 22 patients who had a “BioJoint” knee surgery with remarkably high failure rates.

The BioJoint knee surgeries were pioneered by an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. James Stannard, and a veterinarian, Dr. James Cook, who were both employees of the University of Missouri.

According to lawsuits, patients were not informed that the surgery had an extraordinarily high failure rate of 86%.

Many patients suffered worse knee problems and eventually needed follow-up surgeries, or even total knee replacements, including some patients who were minors at the time of their initial surgeries.

Lawsuits also alleged that patients were not told that Dr. Cook was a veterinarian who was only approved to treat animals, and not a medical doctor or a licensed physician for people.

Despite that, Dr. Cook was listed as a “surgeon” on at least 5 patients’ medical records.

The BioJiont knee settlement does not include any admission of guilt or liability on behalf of the University of Missouri. If divided evenly, it would provide a payout of about $736,000 per person, on average.

Source: University of Missouri Settles Lawsuits Over Knee Surgeries Involving Veterinarian

Posted by Daily Hornet

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