According to Barron’s Magazine, Johnson & Johnson is the world’s most respected company. this goes hand in hand with Harris Interactive’s National Corporate Reputation Survey results, where Johnson & Johnson always rates very high. But there are signs that, perhaps, this amazing relationship with the public might be coming to an end, as it’s certainly going through a rough patch.

Like all relationships, this one needs constant work and attention, and you’re only as good as the last few actions you took. Right now, Johnson & Johnson’s recent track record isn’t as good as the company had us used to.

In this year of 2010 two events have stained the somewhat immaculate reputation of the company: the children’s products recall of April and the DePuy lawsuit that starting being put in motion in August this year. And if the former was dealt with swiftly by Johnson & Johnson with an immediate recall of all affected products and apparently no harm caused to anyone, the latter is more of a problem.

The design and operating flaws of the DePuy hip replacement implants caused one out of every eight people fitted with the devices to have them replaced within five years of the first surgery. This is a terrible record, especially considering that a normal lifespan of a hip replacement prosthetic is 15 years. But a mistake could be tolerated, what will not be tolerated is the fact that, allegedly, the company knew about this for quite some time, but only decided to act upon it when a third party investigative team discovered the case. Now one must wonder: how will Johnson & Johnson deal with this?