Keep it to one recall a week. Is that too much to ask Johnson & Johnson
Instead, the health-care giant is out with its second. Earlier this week, I reported about a manufacturing problem with its contact lenses, and now Johnson & Johnson is recalling two hip- replacement devices that seem to fail at a higher-than-expected rate. And that's on top of the ongoing problems with its over-the-counter medications.
The cost of this recall won't be that huge. Johnson & Johnson had been phasing out the hip-replacement devices, so the hit to sales won't be that great. The company has agreed to pay for the surgeries of patients who will need replacements because of the recall.
Then there are the potential costs from lawsuits if plaintiffs seek damages for pain and suffering. This isn't like the children's medicines that were recalled earlier in the year when the drugs hadn't been reported to cause any serious harm. Jurors are likely to be sympathetic to frail grandmas who have to go through a seemingly needless additional surgery.
And then, of course, there's the ongoing problem of tarnishing the Johnson & Johnson name. Stryker
Whether we've reached that point, I don't know. Let's just hope I'm not writing about another recall next week.
Bryan Hinmon wonders if this stock is a land mine.
