A new lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division on May 2, 2018 by a plaintiff who says he experienced failure of his DePuy ASR hip system requiring explantation.

The complainant, Donald R., is a 77-year old resident of Southgate, Mich. who was the recipient of a DePuy ASR hip system when he underwent a total hip arthroscopy (THA) on Nov. 23, 2009.

According to his complaint, Donald had orthopedic surgery at Beaumont Hospital-Oakwood in Trenton, Mich. and was implanted with a DePuy ASR hip system  on the right side of his pelvic cage.

Due to problems with the DePuy ASR hip system, Donald says it was necessary for him to have it removed a little over eight years later at a different branch of the same hospital located in Dearborn, Mich.

According to the short-form complaint, the lawsuit indicates that Donald suffered unexplained and unnecessary pain in the right hip, blood poisoning from high levels of cobalt and chromium leaching from the DePuy ASR hip system, and tissue death in the region of the prosthetic because of his body treating it as a foreign body. Donald claims the injury is ongoing, despite removal of the hip prosthetic.

Donald, through his counsel, claims that his injury was directly caused by the actions and inactions of the manufacturers and promoters of the DePuy ASR hip system—DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., DePuy Inc, Johnson & Johnson Inc., and Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc.

The plaintiff claims personal injury and economic loss in relationship to the use of this hip prosthetic. The choice of this product was made by his orthopedic surgeon and himself relying upon the presentations made by the defendants.

In filing this lawsuit, Donald has officially joined Multidistrict Litigation No. 2197 (MDL)—DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation. This MDL is an aggregate of other lawsuits against the same defendants for failure of the DePuy ASR hip system.

This hip prosthetic was recalled by DePuy, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson Inc. in late summer 2010. The recall of the hip system was because of a study whose results pointed to a failure of the product in 13% of recipients within a five-year period. The DePuy Company pointed to cases of joint dislocation, pelvic fracture, inflammation and pain because of a loosening of prosthetic parts and a failure of those parts to align correctly.

The recall also indicated that increased levels of cobalt and chromium in the blood was possible because of the metal-on-metal nature of the hip replacement and shedding of metal debris into tissue surrounding the implant.

The plaintiff is bringing 15 causes of action against the defendants and is demanding a trial by jury. Donald is asking for compensatory, punitive, and statutory damages according to evidence presented at the trial. He hopes for an inclusion of all court expenses with his award.

The DePuy ASR Hip System Lawsuit is Case No.1:18-dp-20039-JJH in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division.