Many patients who have been injured by hip implants manufactured by DePuy have already received part of a DePuy hip settlement. However, recently, the DePuy hip settlement agreement has been extended to a new group of potentially injured claimants.

According to the settlement website, claimants who were injured by the ASR XL Acetabular Hip System or ASR Hip Resurfacing System may be eligible to join the DePuy hip settlement agreement.

The DePuy hip settlement was recently amended on March 3, 2017 to extend settlement benefits to DePuy ASR patients who underwent revision surgery after March 2015. The settlement website was set up to help administer the DePuy hip settlement agreements between DePuy Orthopaedics and several affected plaintiffs.

The previous DePuy hip settlement agreement was agreed to on March 2, 2015. It originally offered compensation to United States patients who had ASR metal-on-metal hip implants implemented and had to have revision surgery between Aug. 31, 2014 and Jan. 31, 2015.

With the current Depuy hip settlement extension, patients who needed to get revision surgery at a later date are now eligible to participate.

Overview of DePuy Hip Settlement Eligibility

Each of these qualifying claimants opted for the metal-on-metal ASR Depuy hip replacements, and had to undergo revision surgery due to hip implant complications. The metal-on-metal hip implant reportedly caused patients to experience severe pain, device failure and dangerously high metal ion levels.

When the ball and socket joint of an all-metal hip implant interacts, metal ions may be shed into the bloodstream and can affect the patient. These metal ions can lead to the development of metallosis, fretting, corrosion, tissue death and the formation of tumors.

These complications would often force patients to undergo revision surgery to explant or replace the hip implant, which is considered riskier than the initial surgery.

The first DePuy hip settlement for ASR patients was set up in November 2013 to compensate eligible United States ASR patients who had to undergo revision surgery. These revision procedures were reportedly due to metal hip implant complications caused by the ASR XL Acetabular Hip System or the ASR Hip Resurfacing System.

The success of the first DePuy hip settlement has encouraged potential claimants to file legal action against the manufacturer for allegedly failing to warn them against potential metal hip implant complications.

When metal-on-metal hip implants were first approved for use, they were marketed to be superior to plastic or ceramic options. These models were advertised to be longer lasting and more durable, with most of them being customizable to patients. These particular features made them especially popular with younger orthopedic patients, who lived a more active lifestyle.

However, DePuy allegedly failed to warn patients against metal hip implant complications, many of which were serious enough to require revision surgery. Many patients allege that DePuy failed to warn them or their orthopedist of the dangers with no special instructions on the products’ labels.

Potential claimants should contact a lawyer to determine eligibility for the ASR hip implant settlement.