DePuy Orthopaedics, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has agreed to a substantial and immense DePuy ASR settlement benefitting patients who were implanted with a DePuy ASR hip implant and underwent revision surgery since March 2015.

The ASR Hip System is a single cup and socket piece that can be used for hip resurfacing, which utilizes the DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System, and for total hip replacements, applying the ASR XL Acetabular Hip System.

The ASR Hip System was designed to support the energetic and dynamic daily life of younger patients and to diminish chances for dislocation. It was created for younger and increasingly active patients who were deliberating and contemplating hip replacement surgery.

The goal of the ASR Hip System design was to create a hip bearing surface that was more withstanding and durable than polyethylene and a surface that was not bound to any fracture risk with the use of ceramic.

The ASR Hip Resurfacing System is all metal, or a metal-on-metal artificial hip implant. Complaints related to that metal-on-metal design have been the subject of thousands of hip replacement lawsuits filed since its introduction in August 2005. In August 2010, DePuy issued a massive recall for the device.

In 2010, DePuy received information from the UK Joint Registry stating that some ASR patients were undergoing a second hip replacement surgery prematurely. The Registry reported that 13 percent of such implants had required replacement surgery due to debilitating complications.

Zimmer, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, acted quickly and voluntarily recalled approximately 93,000 DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing Systems and ASR XL Acetabular Hip Systems in every country where it was sold.

Complications Leading to DePuy ASR Settlement

Metal-on-metal implants can shed tiny bits of metal into the surrounding living tissue. This can lead to a variety of hip implant complications that can affect hip function and cause  other  health  problems.

Complications associated with metal-on-metal implants like the DePuy ASR can include an increased risk of cancer, degenerative heart disease, cardiomyopathy, pseudotumors, weakening of bone leading to fractures, metallosis or metal poisoning, and tissue death surrounding the hip implant.

Johnson & Johnson has been named in more than 8,000 DePuy ASR Acetabular System and DePuy Pinnacle Acetabular Cup System hip implant lawsuits.

In August 2012, Johnson and Johnson declared a DePuy ASR settlement negotiation and that they would pay a collective $600,000 to settle a small number DePuy ASR lawsuits suffered by those who had experienced adverse effects and had removed the artificial hip as a result. A later settlement offered compensation to thousands of other plaintiffs.

The most recent DePuy ASR settlement is now offering compensation to ASR patients who underwent hip implant revision surgery after March 2015 due to adverse hip implant effects and complications.