A new DePuy Pinnacle metal hip lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division on June 20, 2018. The plaintiffs Rocky B. and Linda B.—a married couple—join the Pinnacle metal hip prosthetic multidistrict litigation (MDL) No. 2244 with this legal claim. The couple are residents of Hobbs, N.M.

Rocky, the plaintiff who allegedly suffered the failure of his DePuy Pinnacle metal hip was implanted with the device on Oct. 27, 2007, according to the lawsuit. The prosthetic was installed on the right side of his pelvis by Dr. William Montgomery of Plano, Texas, who had been fully trained by DePuy on all aspects of this process by the defendants.

Three months after this surgery, Rocky claims Dr. Montgomery should have been notified by DePuy of the potential for unusual wear from metal-on-metal friction in the ball and socket joint and the possibility of patients developing post-surgical pseudotumors, but this didn’t occur. He claims that in the winter of 2008, the defendants were officially put on notice about these tendencies in the Pinnacle metal hip.

Radiological testing of the Pinnacle metal hip after implantation indicated the prosthetic unit was in the correct position. Rocky says he proceeded to heal quickly and suffered no consequences of this artificial joint choice until nearly 10 years later. He says he started to experience significant difficulties in the lumbar area of his back and left hip joint and sought treatment in his home state for these issues.

Nothing short of surgery worked to alleviate these conditions, Rocky says, so Dr. Montgomery recommended a left hip replacement. This was done in December 2017. During this hospitalization, Rocky claims his Pinnacle metal hip was also re-evaluated by the orthopedic surgeon and found to be a source of progressive bone loss and ongoing pain as well as increased blood levels of cobalt and chromium.

Rocky’s physician told him, according to the lawsuit, that a total hip revision surgery would be necessary with a removal of the prosthetic femoral head and acetabular liner and replacement with new components. Dr. Montgomery’s surgical notes revealed that the Pinnacle metal hip had failed the patient, the complaint says.

The plaintiffs in this lawsuit and other cases involved in the DePuy Pinnacle metal hip MDL claim that DePuy—which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson Co.—had the resources to fully test and know in advance of the potential risks of this hip makeup and design but failed to do so. Even after they were put on notice, Rocky claims, they did not recall the product or warn physicians of this risk.

The reported problems include metallosis or blood poisoning from the shard of metal released into nearby tissue from this metal-on-metal design. This blood poisoning has been implicated in cancer and heart disease. The metal debris surrounding the joint can cause pain, inflammation, loss of mobility, and bone loss.

Rocky and Linda bring the following causes of action against the defendants: Design Defect; Failure to Warn; Negligence; Breach of Express and Implied Warranty, Implied Warranty of Merchantability, and Fitness; Violation of Texas Business and Commerce Code; Intentional and Negligent Misrepresentation and Infliction of Emotional Distress; Fraudulent Concealment; Constructive Fraud; Medical Monitoring, and Loss of Consortium.

The DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-01609-K in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.