A defective metal hip implant has made her life miserable, says Julie T., who is suing Johnson & Johnson, manufacturers of the DePuy Pinnacle metal on metal hip replacement system.

The lawsuit alleges that despite evidence that such designs were defective, Johnson & Johnson forged ahead with the creation of the DePuy Pinnacle System.

Defective Metal Hip Implant Components

The DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement system consists of four components: the metal femoral stem, which is inserted inside the femur bone; the metal femoral head (ball) connects to the top of the stem and makes contact with a liner; the cobalt-chromium liner of the cup; and the metal acetabulum cup (socket).

The acetabulum cup is made of titanium metal on the outer shell. The cobalt-chromium liner makes it impossible to keep metal from rubbing against metal.

More than 1,085 adverse event reports have been submitted to the FDA by 2011. Among the problems reported were soft tissue reactions, tumor growth and metal poisoning.

Hip Replacement Lawsuit

Julie received a Pinnacle metal on metal hip replacement surgery for her right hip in January 2009.

As a result, she suffers from limited mobility, serious pain, and the possibility of a revision surgery.

Johnson & Johnson is accused of concealing known defects, the early failure rate, known complications and the unreasonably dangerous nature of the Pinnacle hip implant system.

DePuy itself published a brochure in 2001 that stated that devices including the McKee-Farrar, Muller and Ring hip replacement systems were “poorly designed and inadequately manufactured.” Yet, those were the same components that DePuy used as the basis of its Pinnacle metal on metal hip replacement design.

Despite consciously manufacturing and marketing a defective metal hip implant that was modeled after a failed system, Johnson & Johnson promoted the DePuy Pinnacle system as a high-quality, safe and effective alternative.

Problems Should Have Been Discovered and Disclosed

Due to a bureaucratic loophole, the Pinnacle defective metal hip implant system did not undergo clinical trials or FDA review for safety and effectiveness because the system was so similar to an older metal on metal implant.

Julie’s lawsuit contends that if Johnson & Johnson had conducted clinical trials before the defective metal hip implant was released in the early 2000s, the company would have discovered what they learned in 2007 from years of data.

A high percentage of implant recipients develop metallosis, biologic toxicity and an early and high failure rate because of metal particles being released into the body.

As the cobalt-chromium metal femoral head rotates within the cobalt-chromium metal liner, tiny metal shavings are released by the friction between the two pieces. These toxic metal ions enter the tissue and bloodstream, causing metallosis, pseudotumors, inflammation and pain.

Over time, the pain becomes more severe and can result in the death of surrounding tissue and subsequent bone loss, decreasing the patient’s mobility.

The defective metal hip implant’s problems are similar to the issues that led to the recall of the defendants’ earlier models of metal on metal hip replacement devices, and were, in fact, all designed by the same orthopedic surgeon.

The Defective Metal Hip Implant Lawsuit is filed within the DePuy MDL, MDL No. 3:11-MD-2244-K, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.