Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics are facing an ASR hip implant lawsuit.

Plaintiff Kimberly O. and her husband are named plaintiffs in the case filed as a short form complaint as part of a multidistrict litigation.

Kimberly says she underwent a DePuy ASR hip implant surgery on her left hip in May 2006. Over time, she reportedly started to suffer from “pain, stiffness, discomfort and weakness” that impacted her mobility and quality of life.

As a result of her alleged complications, Kimberly said she underwent a revision surgery to have the ASR hip implant removed in May 2017. Since the revision surgery, she alleges she has continued to suffer pain throughout the time she has been recuperating, rehabilitating and undergoing physical therapy.

Kimberly’s “ability to perform normal physical activities has been and will be consequently limited,” said the complaint. In addition, Kimberly said she experiences anxiety about the recalled hip implant, the alleged metal toxicity from the implant, and the need for medical monitoring.

DePuy ASR Hip Implant Sparks Lawsuits

Johnson & Johnson has paid $4 billion to settle around 8,000 ASR hip implant lawsuits, most of which accused the metal-on-metal implant systems of causing metal poisoning, known as metallosis.

The DePuy ASR hip implant allegedly causes metal components to rub against one another. This constant scraping action may result in tiny metal shavings expelling from the components. The parts are made of cobalt and chromium. When the small metal shavings sink into surrounding tissue, the tissue becomes inflamed and fluid collects as the body tries to expel the shavings. Metal ions allegedly leach into the tissue and bloodstream, causing high levels of cobalt or chromium in the blood.

Affected tissue can die, and the only way to reduce the metallosis is by having hip revision surgery to remove the defective components.

Side effects of the ASR hip implant can allegedly cause problems with nearly every system in the human body, including:

• Degenerative heart disease or cardiomyopathy
• Impaired renal function
• Thyroid dysfunction
• Hearing impairment or deafness
• Skin rash
• Pseudotumors around the hip implant, causing pressure and inflammation
• Cancer due to toxic metals entering the system
• Dislocated hip
• Reduction in bone strength or structure, causing easy fracturing
• Implant loosening
• Bone death, creating spontaneous dislocation or fracture

The ASR hip implant system’s design reportedly was based upon DePuy’s earlier metal-on-metal hip implant system that had all of the same complications, the Pinnacle hip implant. It is for this reason that patients allege Johnson & Johnson knew the ASR hip implant was poorly designed. Surgeons allegedly expressed to Johnson & Johnson that the rate of complications was so high that the company should stop selling the ASR hip implant.

The ASR Hip Implant Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-dp-20025-JJH and is part of the DePuy ASR MDL, In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1:10 md 2197, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division.