A patient says that the design of the ASR metal on metal hip replacement is defective and can cause adverse side effects.

Plaintiff Shawn B. says that he had both his hips replaced in one surgery, and was implanted with an ASR metal on metal hip replacement in both surgeries.

He claims that he was told that the hip replacement system was safe and effective, and agreed to have it used in his surgery based on this information. However, he says that in reality, the device possessed a design defect that caused him injury, and required him to have revision surgeries to remove and replace the hip implants.

He aims to hold DePuy Orthopaedics, the maker of the device, liable for his injury, and seeks compensation for his alleged injury.

According to Shawn, he had both hips replaced in one surgery on or around Nov. 21, 2008 in Williamsport, Pa. During this surgery, he says that he was implanted with the DePuy ASR metal on metal hip replacement in each hip. After the surgery, Shawn claims that he experienced “pain, weakness, difficulty with simple daily living activities, and increased metallic ions in his bloodstream,” because of a defect in the product’s design.

Shawn is one of many patients who take issue with the design of the ASR metal on metal hip replacement. Shawn states that the ASR hip replacement is made with two main components — a ball of the hip and a socket of the hip. He says that in most hip replacement devices, one component is made of metal while the other is made of plastic, so no metal rubs directly on metal.

Shawn argues that in the case of the ASR hip, both the ball and the socket are made of metal, and if the two pieces are not implanted at exactly the right angle in relation to one another, the two pieces can rub improperly. He claims that this this can cause metal to fret off of the device and enter surrounding tissue and the patient’s blood stream. This increase in metal in a person’s blood stream can allegedly be bad for a person’s health, and the metal fragments in a person’s tissues can cause infection and inflammation.

This improper wearing can allegedly also cause the so much of the metal to wear away that the device does not fit together properly, causing pain, weakness, and a difficulty in walking and moving. Shawn says that he experienced these symptoms and that they prevented him from doing daily activities.

Shawn also says that he did not know the device was defective and could not have known that the device caused the metallic ions in his blood to rise until he had blood work done after his surgery and discovered that the levels of chromium and cobalt in his blood, the two metals used in the ASR metal on metal hip replacement, were too high.

Shawn states that because of the injuries he suffered, he had to have revision surgery to have the hip implants removed and replaced with hip replacement devices other than the ASR metal on metal hip replacement.

The ASR Metal on Metal Hip Replacement Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-dp-20075-JJH, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division.