A Michigan resident claims that DePuy Orthopaedics (DePuy) and Johnson & Johnson failed to adequately warn consumers about the risks and severity of Pinnacle hip replacement complications, and is suing the hip implant manufacturer for injuries he allegedly suffered.

Plaintiff Jimmie P. alleges in the hip implant lawsuit that he sustained severe hip replacement complications, causing him to be permanently disabled as a direct result of DePuy and Johnson & Johnson’s defective manufacturing and marketing of the Pinnacle Device.

Jimmie underwent a total hip arthroplasty procedure on his right hip in June 2006 where he received the Pinnacle hip implant metal insert. Shortly after, he began suffering debilitating, pain, inflammation, as well as metallosis — the release of toxic metal ions into his tissue and bloodstream — and was forced to undergo premature hip revision surgery on his right hip to replace the defective Pinnacle hip implant in 2014.

Jimmie alleges DePuy was aware that Pinnacle hip implants may result in unsafe release of toxic metal ions into the hip implant recipients’ tissue and bloodstream that could result in metallosis tissue death, bone erosion, and development of tumors.

DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant Overview

The Pinnacle hip is a total hip replacement system manufactured by Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary, DePuy Orthopaedics. Like other such devices, the Pinnacle hip was cleared by the FDA in 2001 through its 510 (k) process, in which medical devices deemed to be “substantially similar” to other devices which have already been cleared and are not subject to rigorous testing prior to being released into the U.S. market. Since then, thousands of adverse event reports have been filed with the FDA regarding problems with the Pinnacle device, that include hip pain, injury, and ultimately, hip implant failure.

Pinnacle Hip Implant Lawsuits

The DePuy Pinnacle hip implant was intended to be a strong and lasting device designed to help active people who had experienced painful hip ailments and who wanted to maintain a vigorous life. The device was intended to provide easy mobility and comfort. However, thousands of individuals have filed hip implant lawsuits alleging that the product is defective, has produced a series of unpleasant side effects, and has put them in severe pain.

In May 2011, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) consolidated federal DePuy Pinnacle hip lawsuit complaints into multidistrict litigation. Known as MDL 2244, the centralized litigation is located in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and is presided over by Judge Ed Kinkeade. The goal of the DePuy Pinnacle MDL is to consolidate pending hip implant lawsuits. An MDL helps streamline legal processes, reduce costs, and minimize contradictory and duplicate rulings.

As of June 2014, more than 6,400 individual Depuy hip implant lawsuits, like Jimmie’s, have been filed in the national multidistrict litigation proceedings that are pending before Judge Kinkeade.

The DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant Lawsuit is Case No. 3:11-MD-2244-K (MDL No. 2244) in the United States District Court Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.