Former Major League Baseball umpire Mark Hirschbeck had his career ended and his dreams dashed by a failed hip replacement. Consequently, he’s become an advocate for Congress to pass the Medical Device Safety Act.
Mark Hirschbeck reached the pinnacle of his profession in 2001 when he umpired in the 2001 World Series. But in the nearly a decade since, he’s experienced a nightmare of dashed dreams and never-ending pain.
Hirschbeck, 48, began umpiring right after high school. It took him eight years to rise through the ranks to the Major Leagues. His umpiring career at the highest level lasted fifteen years. By then, years of squatting, bending, and running had made pain and cortisone shots regular features of his life. In June 2003, following hip replacement surgery, he heard a “pop.” The hip, a ceramic one, had shattered. “Pain shot right through my side,” Hirschbeck said.
His physician had supposedly given him the “Rolls Royce” in artificial hips, and told him that he’d soon be able to resume his coveted umpiring career. It never happened.
A second surgery by the same doctor replaced the original artificial hip with the identical brand. By August, severe pain redeveloped and Hirschbeck was diagnosed with a staph infection. A third hip replacement surgery, again with the same brand of artificial hip, led to the same result.
Eventually, he sought out a different physician, Dr. Charles Cornell of New York, who removed all the ceramic and metal from his hip and administered antibiotics to clear the infection. Months later, he’d recovered to some extent, but his recovery has been limited. “I can’t run anymore, I can’t play golf, I can’t do yard work, and I can’t be an umpire,” Hirschbeck says.
When he first underwent surgery at age 42, he’d anticipated an additional 15 years of working as a Major League umpire.
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that manufacturers of class III medical devices attaining U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, like Hirschbeck’s artificial hip, are immune from claims challenging these products’ safety or effectiveness. Hirschbeck, like many other victims of similar corporate negligence, is trying to change this outcome via the legislative route.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, supports the Medical Device Safety Act. “Stories like that of Mark’s demonstrate the need for modernizing and strengthening the Food and Drug Administration’s drug and device safety responsibilities, including reforming the approval process for medical devices, increasing transparency, and enhancing post-market surveillance.”
Alexandra Reed writes for Connecticut personal injury law firm, Stratton Faxon.
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