A NUMBER of people fitted with faulty hip implants are experiencing forgetfulness and other “neurological issues”, according to a law firm working on their behalf.

THE health consequences of fitting Irish patients with defective hip implants are more serious than first realised and the state could end up picking up the tab, a medical negligence lawyer warned yesterday.

A group of patients affected by the recent recall of faulty hip replacements are considering suing the manufacturer De Puy.

A MAJOR US company which produced faulty artificial hips given to more than 93,000 people worldwide, including 3,500 Irish patients, has been heavily criticised after it insisted any refunds or covered repair surgery costs are dependent on the equipment being returned to the firm.

THE State’s potential €500 million compensation bill for medical negligence claims could be “hugely reduced” if people were dealt with in an open and transparent way, a health law specialist has said.

THE State’s redress scheme, established to compensate women who had their wombs removed unnecessarily by disgraced obstetrician Dr Michael Neary, will get under way in two weeks’ time.

It has been 2,000 years and possibly much longer since the Earth has run such a fever.

A NURSE who blew the whistle on a colleague she believed was stealing morphine from seriously ill patients claims the wrongdoer was protected by “higher-ups” and is still practising.

The Government will decide in late May if it will sue US pharmaceutical firms over contaminated blood products.

The solicitor representing 100 Irish users of the drug Vioxx has reacted with dismay to a ruling in the US that its manufacturer was not liable for causing a 60-year-old’s heart attack.

THE parents of a two- year-old haemophiliac boy who died when an artery was punctured during a hospital operation appealed to the Government yesterday to ensure his death is fully investigated.

The parents of a two-year-old boy, who died following a hospital operation, appealed to the Government today to ensure his death is fully investigated.

The number of Irish patients seeking compensation from the US drugs company Merck over its controversial painkiller Vioxx has doubled in a week, it emerged tonight.

THE 85 complaints to the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) about the controversial painkiller Vioxx are just the tip of the iceberg, a solicitor warned yesterday.

COMPLAINTS received by the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) about the controversial arthritis drug Vioxx are only the tip of the iceberg, an Irish law firm has maintained.

AN Irish firm of solicitors has teamed up with a major American law firm to begin what could become an international class action against drug company Merck, makers of the controversial painkiller, Vioxx.