Defects With DePuy Hip Replacement Hardware May Give Rise To Lawsuits Against Manufacturer

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Defects With DePuy Hip Replacement HardwareEvery year, almost 200,000 hip replacement surgeries are performed in the United States for a variety of reasons including trauma and arthritic conditions.

For many of the hip-replacement patients, a hip replacement surgery is particularly difficult due to the invasive nature of the procedure and the lengthy recovery time.

As a lawyer who frequently works with the elderly, I have witnessed how a hip replacement procedure can really negatively impact the quality of life.  Sadly, hip replacement surgeries in many elderly people results in a rapid downward spiral in their physical and psychological well-being.  Some studies suggest that more than 25% of patients over 65-years-old will die within a year of the procedure.

What if the hip replacement only resulted in additional pain? 

Or what if the procedure needed to be repeated?

Unfortunately, many hip replacement patients who received artificial hips and various parts manufactured by DePuy, a division of Johnson and Johnson, their original hip replacement may have resulted in both additional pain and the need for a revisionist surgery.

On August 26, 2010, DePuy issued a product recall for their: DePuy ASR XL Acetabular System and the DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System.  The product recall came after numerous medical studies confirmed that the DePuy products failed to perform as they were intended– and marketed to the public.

For some patients who received these defective products, a second or third revisionist hip replacement surgery was necessary due to various defects medical experts relate to metal-on-metal contact that is used in DePuy products.  The design of the DePuy devices has resulted in high product failure rates and splintering of the metal into the patients body.

Given the severe problems associated with DePuy hip replacement products, people who have received DePuy have legal rights related to their pain, disability and medical expenses.  Currently, no class action has been formed and injured individuals can pursue their claim directly against DePuy.  If you have questions as to weather you are a recipient of a DePuy device, you can obtain that information from your surgeon or medical center.

If you have suffered an injury due to a defective hip replacement product or have questions regarding your legal rights.  Please fill out our contact form or call and speak to a medical device lawyer today.  (800) 926-7565.

Related:

Johnson & Johnson Unit Recalls 2 Hip Replacement Systems, Medscape Today by Robert Lowes

Johnson & Johnson Recalls Hip Implants, New York Times, Natash Singer, August 26, 2010

Posted in: Fractures and Medical Device Failures
Updated:

3 responses to “Defects With DePuy Hip Replacement Hardware May Give Rise To Lawsuits Against Manufacturer”

  1. Juergen Schaberick says:
    November 4, 2010 at 8:30 am

    Highly interesting facts on the ‘DePuy Kick-Backs for Surgeons’, but that is not all, it comes even worst for us as victims of the entire nightmare ‘hip replacement gone bad’. Wow, and now they start blaming us victims that we have caused the injuries?
    1. My right hip was replaced using one of the DePuy devices 2 days before Christmas 2008.
    2. For the first 3 months after surgery I was unable to lie down straight in bed, only changing certain positions hourly sitting in a recliner allowed me to bear severe and violent pain.
    3. Once I was ordered to walk on full weight, I was never able to walk more than half a mile without severe pain kicking in. Actually, to the day my hip replaced leg starts hurting badly when I walk only very short distances. Now, almost 2 years after surgery, many times severe pain kicks in when I just sit or lie down.
    My surgeon always suggested to be patient as recovery from a severe operation like that could take up to a year.
    4. The last time I saw my surgeon was a little over one year post-surgery. Again, I told him how severe my pains still were.
    5. During this past spring/summer I tried to see my surgeon again. Mainly because I was suffering more and more. Unfortunately, due to my long tern ‘Leave of Absence’ I had lost my job and all my benefits including health insurance. My surgeon’s front office told me over the phone that I would have to pay a fee of $160 just to see the doctor as an uninsured person. I thought that that was odd because my surgeon and office knew that I never had recovered from all the post-op pains.
    6. Just a short time ago I learned about the recalls and class-action lawsuits on the DePuy devices. Well, it took 4 phone calls and leaving messages with my surgeon’s office. Now, they finally returned my 4th call, and informed me that my hip replacement is a DuPuy device. Not without to mention that my hip replacement might not a DePuy device under the recall……Can you imagine a statement like that? To a patient who cannot sleep for more than an hour at a time because of severe pain in the area where hip was replaced?
    After that statement of my surgeon’s office, I am not just questioning the possibly illegal $114 million in kick backs to surgeons, furthermore I am questioning if surgeons are still paid by DePuy Orthopedics. Now, only to put up a ‘first line of defense’ against patients so they don’t participate in law suits.
    Worst comes worst:
    I was told me that DePuy is trying to get patients to sign medical release papers from hospitals. Supposedly, they claim that they would examine their bad devices. But I have also heard that investigators found out already that DePuy is destroying these devices in fact. All in order to get rid of evidence needed for class action law suits and upcoming trials.
    My personal situation and circumstances make me almost angry. I apologize for that, but meanwhile and gathering a lot of information, who knows whether it is just DePuy hip replacements on recall, or is it all of their hip replacement devices? My severe pain is constant and severe. It is no fun to be unable to sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time, and that since almost 2 years. Having lost job, health insurance, and all the other benefits crippled me to a point that I had to file for disability.
    Will there be justice done to victims one day?
    Regards,
    Juergen Schaberick

  2. Jonathan Rosenfeld says:
    November 4, 2010 at 9:34 am

    Juergen-
    Sadly your experience is not unique. There are many people who have received a DePuy hip replacement product in the past few years that are experiencing pain and other medical problems associated with the defective product.
    Do you know the specific name of the DePuy device?
    If you are not getting satisfactory responses from the surgeon who performed the procedure, you may want to get a second opinion elsewhere.
    I wish you the best and hope you find the source of your discomfort and get it remedied as soon as feasible.

  3. k smith says:
    December 30, 2011 at 6:15 pm

    Im sorry to here that I too have a implant its not a full one but 4 pins threw the femur to repair the fracture .well less than a year after my operation the doctor found out that the top pin broke in half in my leg .Im disabled now can work cant sleep and all that .Find u a good lawyer im sure one will help u out they will listen then I know what kind off pain u must b going threw they will have to pay for u pain and suffering lost of income and evrything and in your case money is everything next to god keep him first and it will work out in ur favor well god bless .

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