A Kentucky man has filed a new lawsuit that has joined the DePuy Pinnacle MDL claiming that he was forced to undergo revision surgery because of defective hip replacement device.

Plaintiff Roger J. was implanted with the DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement device on Dec. 12, 2010. This device was implanted to replace his right hip in a total hip arthroplasty procedure.

Not too long after this hip replacement surgery, Roger began experiencing serious pain and discomfort in his right hip. He alleges that his mobility is severely decreased and that when he walks, he walks with a limp.

This lawsuit that has joined the DePuy Pinnacle MDL claims that he most likely will have to undergo revision surgery as a result of his replacement device complications.

This lawsuit alleges, “All of the injuries and complications suffered by [Roger] were caused by the defective design, warnings, construction and unreasonably dangerous character of the Pinnacle Device that was implanted in [Roger].”

The DePuy Pinnacle MDL claims that if the defendants had not hidden the known defects including “the early failure rate, the known complications and the unreasonable risks associated with the use of the Pinnacle Device, [Roger] would not have consented to the Pinnacle Device being used in his total hip arthroplasty.”

The larger issues listed in the DePuy Pinnacle MDL are numerous. The DePuy Pinnacle MDL asserts that this device was not required to undergo rigorous premarket approval before it went to market and was implanted in patients like Roger.

Instead, the DePuy Pinnacle hip system only had to go through a process known as a 510(k) approval process. Essentially, a device is “grandfathered” in because it is very similar to another device that has sought and received approval. The defendants were able to sell and market the device with “virtually no clinical or non-clinical trials or FDA review of the implant for safety and effectiveness,” the DePuy Pinnacle MDL states.

The DePuy Pinnacle MDL also asserts that DePuy did not test their device. If they had properly tested their hip replacement devices they would have discovered, the MDL states, the serious complications associated with it.

The metal-on-metal design of this device has been found to contribute to a condition know as metallosis. Basically, metal pieces in the device rub on one another and small metal shards are released into the surrounding tissue and bloodstream.

When this occurs, that metal causes inflammation and can cause a poisoning of the surrounding tissue and blood of the patient. Complications like this can lead to the need for revision surgery which is often a more risky surgery.

The plaintiff in this lawsuit that has joined the DePuy Pinnacle MDL, or multidistrict litigation, is holding the defendants responsible on counts of negligence, manufacturing defect, design defect, inadequate warning, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty or merchantability, negligent misrepresentation, fraud and joint and several liability.

This Hip Replacement Lawsuit is Case No. 3:17-cv-02357-K and is joining the DePuy Pinnacle MDL In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, No. 3:11 md 2244.