A new metal hip replacement lawsuit was recently filed in federal court against DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. alleging that DePuy manufactured a dangerously defective product that caused the plaintiff to suffer injuries such as metal poisoning.

The metal hip replacement lawsuit was brought by Margaret S. a resident of North Carolina. According to the lawsuit, Margaret received a DePuy ASR hip implant for her left hip on April 20, 2010 at the Cleveland Regional Medical Center in North Carolina.

Margaret had the DePuy ASR implant removed 5 years later in March of 2015 because she was suffering from constant pain as a result of cobalt and chromium poisoning.

Margaret is seeking damages for her physical pain and suffering, past medical bills, and the emotional damages she suffered due to the defective device. The metal poisoning lawsuit alleges claims against DePuy for negligence, strict products liability, breach of warranty, fraudulent concealment, and negligent misrepresentation.

Margaret’s lawsuit is a part of the metal hip implant multidistrict litigation. Multidistrict litigation is a process that allows multiple lawsuits that share similar facts and circumstances to be funneled before a single judge for pretrial motions and discovery.

This helps to ensure uniformity of pretrial decisions and works to streamline the process. Once pretrial motions and discovery is complete, many of the cases that have not reach settlement agreements will be returned to the jurisdiction where the case would have been originally filed, in Margaret’s case this will be a federal court in North Carolina.

DePuy Metal Hip Implant Metal Poisoning

Patients like Margaret have been reporting serious debilitating side effects after undergoing a metal on metal hip implant. Many of the alleged side effects include toxic substances leaking from the metal hip implant.

This can result in metal poisoning, degenerative heart disease, cardiomyopathy, non-cancerous tumors surrounding the hip implant site. Other side effects associated with metal on metal hip implants includes loss of bone strength, tissue death surrounding the implant, and loss of bone strength.

The DePuy ASR implant is just one of many device models that is facing potential litigation. The lawsuits against the medical device companies will likely allege that the defendants violated consumer protection laws and failed to warn the medical community and general public.

Metal Hip Implant Lawsuits

Patients who have suffered serious injuries after having a metal hip implant may be able to take legal action against the medical device manufacturer. Deciding to file a lawsuit is a big decision that should be made after careful consideration of all the facts and circumstances. Plaintiffs may have the option of bringing a lawsuit individually or as a member in a class action lawsuit.

Certain types of lawsuits often lend themselves towards one form of litigation over the other. A legal professional can help potential plaintiffs with this decision.

The De Puy ASR Metal Hip Implant Lawsuit is Case No. 1:16-dp-20009  and is filed under the De Puy MDL No. 2197 in the United States District Court in the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division.