A Minnesota couple is suing the makers of a metal-on-metal hip implant after a manufacturer recall forced the plaintiff to undergo an additional hip surgery to remove the allegedly dangerous product. Plaintiffs Sharon and Charles A. have filed the lawsuit against DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. and Johnson & Johnson for fraudulent concealment and negligent misrepresentation of their ASR hip implant product. 

Sharon underwent surgery to implant the DePuy ASR hip replacement in 2007. At that time, the plaintiff was unaware that the metal product was leaking toxic substances including chromium and cobalt directly into her bloodstream. A blood test confirmed the excess toxic levels after the plaintiff heard the device was part of a DePuy hip implant product recall. The faulty product then had to be removed, which required Sharon to have an additional hip revision surgery in April of this year. 

The hip implant lawsuit is seeking financial compensation for Sharon’s past and future pain, medical bills, and loss of normal life. The plaintiffs are also seeking financial compensation for loss of consortium, which is essentially the loss of intimacy, for Charles. 

The DePuy Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Lawsuit is Case No. 1:15-dp-20137-DAK, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division.

Hip Implant Complications

The ASR metal hip implant was designed and marketed by DePuy to patients, promising a 20-year service life and greater range of motion when compared to other traditional hip implants. Sharon was one of more than 500,000 individuals who have undergone hip replacement surgery in the United States with hopes of an improved lifestyle. However, manufacturer Johnson & Johnson (the parent company of DePuy) showed via internal documents that the failure rate of their ARS implant was roughly 37 percent over a 4.6 year period, contradicting their longevity and safety claims of their metal on metal hip implant product. 

After numerous reports and studies, the FDA issued a voluntary recall that included 93,000 hip implants worldwide. Some of the common hip implant side effects reported include: cancer, loss of bone strength, tissue death, chromium or cobalt leaking into bloodstream, non-cancerous tumors around implant, cobalt poisoning, metal poisoning (metallosis), and heart disease.

Thousands of hip implant lawsuits just like this DePuy hip implant lawsuit have been filed by patients who claim the manufacturers failed to warn of the life-threatening side effects caused by the faulty medical devices.

DuPuy Hip Lawsuit

Numerous lawsuits have been filed against Johnson & Johnson for their ASR hip implants by plaintiffs seeking to be compensated for medical expenses as well as the pain and suffering involved with multiple surgeries. Johnson & Johnson and DePuy agreed to settle 7,500 hip lawsuits in 2013 by awarding plaintiffs $2.5 billion dollars collectively. Other recent settlements with the hip implant manufacturers have results in hundreds of thousands of dollars for individuals who claim the makers failed to warn of any serious complications associated with their hip replacement implant.

Families who experience a loss due to the metal poisoning, cancer, or heart disease that occurred as a result of an alleged hip replacement complication may be eligible for a wrongful death lawsuit, which could result in millions of dollars for financial compensation.

If you have had hip implant surgery and later needed to have it removed or replaced due to similar side effects, you should contact a hip implant attorney as you may have legal claim.