The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has determined that a research study project on hip protectors conducted by principal investigator Douglas P. Kiel, M.D. failed to comply with regulations designed to protect human subjects.

This finding is particularly significant for the elderly people who participated in the study and for their families. It is not yet known how many participants may have become disabled or perhaps died as a result of the actions of the researchers. The U.S. taxpayers spent $8.5 million on this ‘improperly conducted’ study and we may well see consequences applied to future applications.

Originally published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2007, the study looked at a brand of hip protectors which was ultimately found to be ineffective and withdrawn from the market however this tended to be overlooked and the entire hip protector industry was subsequently regarded with great suspicion. For those who have backed away from hip protectors as an intervention, we trust that this finding will allow a re-evaluation of HipSaver Hip Protectors which have been validated in independent studies.

To read the press release, please follow this link.