Many patients who have had to undergo total hip arthroscopy and have had severe complications may qualify to receive monetary compensation under the DePuy ASR hip replacement settlement program.

According to the website of the DePuy ASR hip replacement settlement program, the settlement began with a single phase of compensation for former total hip arthroscopy (THA) patients that had had a DePuy ASR hip prosthetic implanted.

This phase of compensation covered these THA patients that required hip revision surgeries because of the failure or pending failure of the unit prior to Aug. 31, 2013.

The ASR hip replacement system developed and manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2005. With this prosthetic, a metal femoral ball articulates with a metal acetabular cup placed within the natural acetabulum of the pelvic cage.

Safety testing was not completed on this product before marketing. It was part of the FDA’s 510k fast track program in which a medical device need only be proven to be substantially similar to a product already on the market.

It wasn’t long after this side-stepping fast track approval process that complaints were registered regarding the functioning of the prosthetic. The first phase of the DePuy ASR hip replacement settlement was not agreed upon until Nov. 13, 2013, eight years after approval.

DePuy ASR Hip Replacement Settlement Based on Recurrent Problems

Complaints that were brought to the attention of the FDA centered around problems with a build-up of metallic debris in the tissue surrounding the prosthetic.

This build-up of debris seemed to cause excessive localized swelling, tissue damage leading to bone loss wherein damaged bone cells ceased to reproduce and replace themselves, pseudotumors and significant pain. When blood was tested, often there was excessive amounts of cobalt or chromium seen in the lab results.

Between 2007 and 2008, complaints of the unit rose threefold from 100 to 300 in number. DePuy removed the ASR hip unit off the Australian market but continued to sell it in the U.S.

It wasn’t until early 2010 that the company started informing doctors in the domestic market about the likelihood of failure in 10% of those implanted with the prosthetic. Finally, in August of 2010, DePuy Orthopaedics, a division of the pharmaceutical giant, Johnson and Johnson Inc., issued a voluntary recall.

The Second Phase of the DePuy ASR Hip Replacement Settlement

The second phase of the DePuy ASR hip replacement settlement affected those ASR recipients that required revision surgeries for their THA between the window of Sept. 1, 2013 and Jan. 31, 2015.

This was a $2.5 billion settlement that allowed for approximately $250,000 for 8,000 plaintiffs in pending lawsuits against Johnson and Johnson.

The $2.5 billion DePuy ASR hip replacement settlement was expanded in February 2015 with another $420 million added to the payout. This action allowed for up to 1,400 more plaintiffs to seek compensatory damages.

The deadline for applying for this second phase of the settlement was extended to Jan. 31, 2015 as well, allowing revision patients time for inclusion.

In what could be called a third phase, but what is technically an extension agreement, the DePuy ASR hip replacement settlement is now compensating ASR recipients that had early revision with prosthetic replacement surgery through Feb. 15, 2017.