An Idaho woman recently filed a hip implant lawsuit against DePuy Orthopaedics and Johnson & Johnson for selling an allegedly defective medical device causing her pain, suffering, permanent physical injuries, disfigurement, emotional distress and economic loss.

Plaintiff Ellen C. originally had the DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip implant surgically placed in October 2006 at a hospital in Utah.

In March 2011, Ellen allegedly began to have issues that were later attributed to a defective implant. The plaintiff had the hip implant explanted in May 2015 by the same doctor who originally placed the metal hip implant nine-years prior.

According to the hip lawsuit, “The plaintiff could not have know that the injuries she suffered were a result of a defect in the ASR hip implant until she had the device explanted during her revision surgery.”

Ellen brought forth numerous counts against DePuy and Johnson & Johnson including counts of negligence, defective design, failure to warn, breaches of express and implied warranties, fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment, unfair and deceptive trade practices under state law, both negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress and gross negligence/malice.

The plaintiff seeks to recover compensatory, punitive or exemplary, and statutory damages, costs for medical monitoring, reimbursement for costs of litigation and any other relief deemed proper by the court.

DePuy Hip Replacement Complications

While many hip implants have metal but contain a plastic liner to protect the metal parts from rubbing together, the DePuy hip implant does not have this feature.

When the metal-on-metal touches, the friction causes pieces of metal to flake off and then become dispersed in a patient’s body. The metal can lodge in tissues or can enter the bloodstream.

The body initiates an immune response to try and attack the metal particles then the body will begin to reject the metal implant. This often leads to swelling and inflammation as the body tries to mount an immune reaction to the foreign components of the hip implant.

The metal flakes can also directly damage tissue, even to the point of necrosis (death) of the tissue and surrounding bone. Tissue damage can cause the components to loosen, as the structure around the implant becomes compromised. Misalignment and dislocation can also occur.

Metal toxicity is also common due to the excess levels of cobalt and chromium found in the blood. This metal poisoning often leads to disruption of the endocrine system causing the hormones of the body to be affected, and it can also cause the heart and other organs to become diseased or fail.

After all of the pain and physical injury resulting from a defective implant, most patients will need to undergo a hip revision surgery to have the implant taken out and a new one implanted in its place. Many times the second hip surgery is more difficult on the body than the first one and patients experience a prolonged and difficult recovery.

DePuy Hip Lawsuit Information

Due to the large numbers of individuals filing lawsuits for DePuy metal hip implants, a multidistrict litigation (MDL) was established. While it is not considered a metal hip class action lawsuit, a metal hip MDL does share some similarities.

All plaintiffs share similar issues against a particular product (or closely related products) and the process is streamlined to represent a large number of individuals in a structured fashion as opposed to the individual filing of lawsuits.

If you or a loved one have experienced personal injury as a result of a metal-on-metal hip implant, you may be entitled to legal compensation for your condition. An experienced hip lawyer can assist you by providing you a free consultation to discuss your situation and explore your legal options.

The DePuy Metal Hip Replacement Lawsuit is In re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 1:15-dp-20241-DAK and MDL No. 2197, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division.