Johnson and Johnson Inc. has been in the legal “hot seat” for some time regarding two of its metal-on-metal hip prosthetic units—the ASR XL acetabular system and the Pinnacle acetabular system.

Both products experienced grave failure rates leading to nearly 8,000 pending cases of litigation against the company and its subsidiary, DePuy Orthopedics. To prevent the first of the ASR hip implant claims from going to trial, the pharmaceutical giant offered the initial $600,000 DePuy metal hip settlement in August 2012.

The first DePuy metal hip settlement was for three litigants who had been implanted with DePuy ASR implants but, due to damaging side effects, were forced to undergo early revision surgery.

Hip revision surgery involves the removal of the device and the implantation of another, better-functioning prosthetic joint. The problems leading to such a radical action were all similar in nature.

Metal-on-Metal Hip Prosthetic Issues

The DePuy metal hip settlement provided compensation for the pain and suffering that metal-on-metal hip prosthetic recipients experienced routinely. In many cases, the pain experienced was attributed to the build-up of metal debris in the artificial joint and surrounding tissues, a condition known as metallosis.

This metal debris came from the cobalt and chromium of the prosthetic itself. It frequently led to pseudotumors around the joint, tissue death, and even some bone loss leading to fracture or dislocation. This loss of bone tissue can and has created stabilization complications with future metal-on-plastic and metal-on-ceramic replacement units.

Metal-on-metal hips were also in extreme cases connected with metal blood poisoning—high levels of cobalt or chromium in the blood that were linked to the development of certain types of systemic cancers and heart disease.

Phases of the Continuing DePuy Metal Hip Settlement

Each of the three litigants that benefited from the original DePuy metal hip settlement in August 2012 were awarded around $200,000.

The continuing DePuy metal hip settlement program was then offered in phases for recipients that had undergone early revision surgery. The first phase allowed those ASR patients that had undergone revision prior to Aug. 31, 2013 to apply for funds.

The second phase covered revisionists for a window of surgery between Aug. 31, 2013 and Jan. 31, 2015. The third phase, which was really an extension agreement, allowed for hip revision patients between the Jan. 31, 2015 date and Feb. 15, 2017.

Taking advantage of the latest extension is very good news for patients who have suffered with the DePuy ASR implant and had to undergo revision surgery within this time window.