The first defective medical device lawsuit over a DePuy hip implant has gone to trial. The plaintiff, Loren Kransky, is seeking damages for injuries he says he sustained from the faulty replacement system.
The retired prison guard contends that debris from the implant’s metal parts caused metal ions to enter his bloodstream. He says his doctor told him he had to undergo hip replacement surgery or risk poisoning.
Kransky is one of thousands of plaintiffs suing Johnson & Johnson, which owns DePuy Orthopedics, over the faulty hip replacement systems that have been linked with an excessively high rate of failure. The medical device makers recalled the devices belonging to the ASR systems in 2010.
The announcement came in the wake of data from the United Kingdom showing that the DePuy hip systems were experiencing a 12% failure rate within five years of being implanted. This had resulted in at least 1in 8 patients undergoing revision to replace the device much too soon after the initial procedure.
Thousands of DePuy ASR hip implant cases followed from patients who claimed that they had to have their device replaced and or/they suffered inflammation, metal poisoning, infection, fractures, and other injuries. Considering that even having just one hip replacement procedure can take a toll-what with recovery, possible infection, learning to walk with the implant, and potential complications-for someone, especially a person who is sick and/or elderly, to have to undergo yet another invasive procedure and all that entails can prove dangerous to his/her health and well-being.
According to Kransky’s hip replacement device lawyers, Johnson & Johnson failed to warn doctors about the risks involved with these defective products, which it did not properly test. They are also alleging negligent recall and design defects.
The DePuy hip implant systems contain a metal cup that is supposed to stay securely in the hip, and debris from the device is not supposed to enter the body. Documents unsealed in court report that the device maker knew that the implants were exhibiting safety problems as far back as 2008. One internal analysis in 2011 is said to have found that close to 36% of the devices would likely failed within five years-way below generally accepted standards that say that no more than 5% of patients should undergo revision hip replacement surgery during this timeframe.
While Johnson & Johnson has offered to pay over $200,000 case to settle the majority of the DePuy hip injury cases that are pending, these offers have generally been refused by plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Some 93,000 patients were sold DePuy hip replacement systems around the world. 37,000 of these individuals live in the US.
You want to make sure that you work with an experienced defective medical device law firm that is experienced in successfully handing such cases.
When J&J Learned of Implant Problems, The Wall Street Journal, January 23, 2013
J&J Failed to Warn of Hip Implant’s Risks, Jurors Told, Bloomberg, January 25, 2013
More Blog Posts:
Another Zimmer Hip Implant Lawsuit Blames Faulty Medical Device for Femur Fractures, Drug Injury Lawyers Blog, October 31, 2012
Johnson & Johnson Settles First Three DePuy Hip Implant Lawsuits for $600,000, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, August 25, 2012
Zimmer KnexGen and DePuy Knee Implants Linked to Patient Injuries, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, August 6, 2012
30 Now Dead in Fungal Meningitis Outbreak Linked to Contaminated Steroid Shots Made by Framingham, Massachusetts Compounding Pharmacy, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, November 5, 2012