Aircast Walking Boot Causes Further Injuries, Class Action Says

A man who says he developed a herniated disk after using a walking boot for an injured leg has filed a class action lawsuit against the device maker DJO Global Inc.

Lead plaintiff Daniel Dreifort alleges in his class action lawsuit that the thick-soled walking boot, the Aircast boot, can lead to misalignments in patients, and even lengthen the leg of the wearers.

The plaintiff says that DJO is aware of the problem and offers an insert called “Evenup” to help mitigate the problems, but he was not informed of Evenup when he started using the boot.

“The thick sole is approximately 1-2 inches thick resulting in one leg being longer than the other, aka leg length discrepancy,” contends the walking boot class action lawsuit. “Walking in the boot causes knee, hip, and back pain. In at least one case, the boot has caused permanent injury resulting in a hip replacement operation”

Dreifort says that he was prescribed the DJO walking boot to help him recover from an ankle injury; however, he developed a herniated disk in his back instead.

The DJO walking boot class action lawsuit alleges that the sole of the boot promotes an uneven gait, leading to his herniated disk and other problems for other patients.

“It does not minimize hip differential, it causes hip differential,” explains the DJO walking boot class action lawsuit. “It’s not smart healing with every step.”

The walking boot is sold both through medical offices and directly to consumers, according to the class action lawsuit. DJO touts the device as “Smart Healing with Every Step.”

According to the DJO walking boot class action lawsuit, the medical device company was aware of the complications caused by the boot but failed to warn Dreifort and other consumers.

The plaintiff points out that the Evenup device meant to correct the differential that led to his alleged injury was not provided to him when he purchased his DJO walking boot.

“DJO should warn consumers of the danger, sell its thick sole walking boot together with the Evenup as a complete package, reimburse defrauded customers (cost to repair), and create a conspicuous webpage to process past personal injury claims in good faith,” alleges the walking boot class action lawsuit.

The class action lawsuit alleges that DJO may have a darker incentive not to inform patients of the potential for injury from the walking boot – to increase the need for knee and hip implants also produced by the company.

“DJO had knowledge of the false and misleading representations when they sought to profit by selling a product solely intended to fix a problem the created and they failed to disclose. DJO profits when consumers suffer from knee, hip, and back injuries, because they are able to sell their other products such as surgical implants at an alarming rate,” alleges the DJO walking boot class action lawsuit.

The plaintiff seeks to represent consumers who purchased a DJO, broken up by subclasses depending on when the device was purchased.

Dreifort and the proposed Class are represented by Scott Sanborn of The Law Office of Scott Sanborn.

The DJO Walking Boot Class Action Lawsuit is Dreifort v. DJO Global Inc., et al., Case No. 3:18­-cv­02393, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.