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DePuy Hip Replacement Lawsuits

Motley Rice is reviewing potential hip replacement lawsuits for people implanted between 2005 and 2010 with the DePuy® Orthopaedics ASR™ XL Acetabular Hip Replacement System or implanted between 2001 and 2010 with the DePuy® Pinnacle® Modular Hip Replacement System with metal insert/ liner and experienced pain or other symptoms that led to a second hip replacement surgery. The hip replacement devices are manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., and both total hip replacement systems include the cup portion of a replacement hip.

Don Migliori serves on the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee for both the DePuy ASR XL MDL, In re DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, and the DePuy Pinnacle MDL, In re DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation.

Read about the FDA's efforts to strengthen regulation of all-metal hip implants in The New York Times and The Washington Post.

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Contact a Hip Replacement Lawyer

If you or someone you know has experienced pain or required revision surgery following the implantation of the ASR XL Acetabular Hip Replacement System or the DePuy Pinnacle Hip Replacement System, please contact lawyers John Duane or Don Migliori by email or call 1.800.768.4026 to discuss your potential hip replacement lawsuit.

Hip Replacement Side Effects

Side effects linked to the DePuy hip replacement device include:

  • Blood test results that show high levels of chromium and cobalt caused by metal debris
  • Clicking, popping or grinding in the area of the hip implant
  • Device failure from loosening that results from bone loss
  • Dislocation (the two parts of the implant move against one another and become misaligned)
  • Fracture (bone around the implant breaking)
  • Loosening in the hip joint (implant fails to stay attached to the bone in the correct position)
  • Metal debris (component parts move together resulting in flecks of metal shavings that spread around the area surrounding the implant and destroy soft bone and tissue)
  • Problems involving walking, pain, swelling or discomfort in the hip area
  • Any of the above symptoms or related conditions that result in revision surgery to remove a DePuy hip device

If you have experienced serious hip replacement side effects or required additional surgery after being implanted with a DePuy ASR XL or Pinnacle Hip Replacement System, you may have a potential hip replacement lawsuit.

DePuy Hip Replacement Device Information

The ASR XL Acetabular Hip Replacement System and the DePuy Pinnacle Hip Replacement System belong to a class of large diameter, metal-on-metal hip replacement and resurfacing devices frequently chosen by surgeons for use on younger patients who might receive greater benefit from a device offering more stability, lessening the chances of post-surgery dislocation.

On Jan. 22, 2013, The New York Times reported that an internal study conducted in 2011 by Johnson & Johnson found that the ASR all-metal device could potentially fail in nearly 40 percent of implanted patients.

There has been controversy surrounding whether the benefit of metal hip implants outweighs the potential risks. In June 2012, the FDA held a two-day advisory panel meeting to discuss how to monitor the more than half-million U.S. patients with metal hip replacements given the results of recent studies and the thousands of adverse reports the FDA has received in connection to the devices. Metal-on-metal devices were originally thought to be a more durable alternative to ceramic or plastic models, but some foreign studies have shown that they may deteriorate faster, expose patients to high levels of metals such as cobalt and chromium, and fail at a higher rate than older implants. According to a report by The Associated Press, the FDA "has asked manufacturers like Johnson & Johnson, Zimmer Holdings Inc. and Biomet Inc. to conduct long-term, follow-up studies of more than 100 metal-on-metal hips on the U.S. market."

In 2003, the ASR XL Acetabular Hip Replacement System was introduced globally and remains one of the few such devices on the worldwide market. On Thursday, August 26, 2010, DePuy issued a voluntary recall of the hip replacement system, stating that "This recall means additional testing and treatment may be necessary to ensure the hip is functioning well. In some cases, patients may need additional surgery."

The recall decision was prompted by unpublished 2010 data from the National Joint Registry of England and Wales showing that more patients than expected who received implants with the devices experienced pain and other adverse side effects that led to a second hip replacement surgery. In the study, there was a five-year revision rate of approximately 13 percent for the ASR XL Acetabular System. Few of these systems remain on the market as DePuy decided to discontinue sales in 2009 due to a decrease in demand and the emergence of new products, but the company is advising patients who have been implanted with an ASR hip replacement device to visit their doctors for an evaluation and future monitoring.

Read detailed information from DePuy about the ASR hip device recall.

While the Pinnacle Hip Implant has not been recalled, the FDA has received more than 1,300 reports of adverse side effects relating to the implant. More than 500 of those complaints were filed in 2010 alone.