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