Stratton Faxon, Connecticut’s firm for trial law, has represented former MLB umpire Mark Hirschbeck in his fight for justice. As a follow-up, Hirschbeck has joined the legislative battle with other victims in an effort to pass the Medical Device Safety Act.
When Mark Hirschbeck began his career as an umpire, right after high school, he never thought that three failed hip replacements would lead to a disastrous end of his dream career. After 23 years of being an umpire, the majority of that time spent in the Major Leagues, he began to have pain in his right hip. This would cause him to require frequent cortisone shots.
In June 2003, Hirschbeck went to John Keggi, a physician based in Waterbury Connecticut, to seek out a hip replacement. Upon being informed that he was going to receive the “Rolls Royce” of hip replacements, Hirschbeck underwent the surgery in hopes of returning to the Major Leagues. While in recovery from the surgery, the ceramic hip shattered. “Pain shot right through my side,” stated Hirschbeck.
Hirschbeck returned to the same physician and replaced the artificial hip with an exact duplicate of the previously shattered one. This would lead to a staph infection, one month later. After undergoing a 3rd surgery with the same brand artificial hip, the infection returned again.
This led Hirschbeck to Dr. Charles Cornell of New York who removed the pieces of ceramic and metal from inside Hirschbeck’s hip. He also administered antibiotics to clear up the infection. After spending eight weeks in recovery, a non-ceramic hip was surgically implanted. Hirschbeck has said that he is much better now, but still requires pain medication because it hurts him to stand or sit for any extended period of time.
Hirschbeck has a pending lawsuit against John Keggi and Wright Medical Technology, Inc, the original equipment manufacturer of his first three artificial hips. Stratton Faxon’s Eric P. Smith is representing Hirschbeck in his case. Hirschbeck just wants his day in court, which is why he’s lobbying federal lawmakers in Washington, D.C. for the initiation of The Medical Device Safety Act. This would allow individual consumers of medical devices to be able to hold the manufacturers responsible when injury or death occurs from their products. “He’s a fighter,” concludes Smith, “an extremely courageous man whose quality of life has been altered forever. We’re hoping that he can win his case, not just for his sake, but in order to set a precedent for other victims.”
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