A woman has filed a DePuy ASR hip implant lawsuit after allegedly suffering serious injuries.

Plaintiff Mona P. says she was implanted with a DePuy ASR hip implant in her left hip in February 2010.

DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

According to her complaint, Mona is suffering permanent harm because of severe metal poisoning caused by the shedding of metal debris from her implant.

The DePuy ASR hip implant system consisted of components made of different metals. As a result, small metal shavings could fret away as a result of normal wear and tear on the joint. Tiny pieces of cobalt and chromium could work their way deep into the tissue where they would fester, resulting in pseudotumors.

The body attempts to rid itself of these metal shavings by sending fluid to flush them out. As a result, swelling and inflammation place further pressure on the metal components. When metal ions enter the bloodstream, the patient can experience metal poisoning.

Metal poisoning, also known as metallosis, can instigate degenerative heart disease, impaired renal function or thyroid dysfunction.

As a result of metal poisoning and other complications, Mona underwent explantation of the DePuy ASR hip implant in October 2016. She alleges she “is permanently harmed, because of complications normally associated with a second hip replacement.”

DePuy ASR Hip Implant Allegedly Defective

Mona contends she has suffered injuries as a result of both the implantation and the explantation of her DePuy ASR hip implant and that she would not have needed the additional surgical procedure “if the ASR implant had performed satisfactorily during its expected usual life.”

She alleges she has been financially impacted because of lost wages and the future loss of earning capacity combined with the additional medical expenses she has incurred. She also seeks compensation for the pain, suffering, and alleged permanent harm from the metal poisoning and the subsequent surgery.

Johnson & Johnson has faced thousands of lawsuits over the DePuy ASR hip implant’s failings. Surgeons allegedly contacted the company and expressed concerns regarding the high rate of complications they were seeing with the ASR implants and asked Johnson & Johnson to stop selling the ASR hip systems.

In the course of one trial, lawyers presented an internal memo that had circulated at Johnson & Johnson. The memo allegedly indicated the company knew that 40 percent of patients who received DePuy ASR hip implants would need revision surgery within five years.

Most patients anticipate an implant system lasting 20 years, and for many of them, that is the rest of their lives.

The DePuy ASR Hip Implant Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-dp-20056-JJH and is part of the DePuy ASR MDL, In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2197, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division.