DePuy Orthopaedics is facing a metal implant lawsuit by a Michigan woman who alleges she faced severe complications following her hip replacement surgery.

Plaintiff Dawn F., along with her husband, claims in the metal hip implant lawsuit that her life has been permanently altered and that these injuries could have been avoided if the company had informed her of the risks linked with its hip replacement product.

Like many Americans in the United States, Dawn had started feeling her pelvic bone and hip joint fail, leading her to explore hip replacement options. This led to her being recommended the DePuy’s Pinnacle Device, which is a metal-on-metal hip implant, because of its durability and because it is resistant to fretting.

Dawn first underwent total hip replacement surgery on her left hip on Dec. 10, 2007. Ideally, this would have allowed her to maintain her active lifestyle and routine. However, soon after having the device implanted, Dawn reported suffering severe pain and discomfort, which led to a visit her doctor about the problem, the metal-on-metal hip implant lawsuit says.

According to medical records, the patient’s metal ion levels in the blood were dangerously elevated and had caused inflammation around the surgical area. Due to these debilitating symptoms, Dawn had to undergo revision surgery to replace the metal hip implant on Jan. 6, 2014, which is considered more complicated and higher risk than the initial surgery.

Dawn and her husband are filing this metal hip lawsuit against DePuy and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson, after recently learning that metal-on-metal hip replacement devices allegedly have a high likelihood of causing complications for patients.

The metal hip implant lawsuit states that the company knew of the risks associated with its metal hip implant, but DePuy deliberately concealed this information from her and other patients to protect the market value of the device.

Dawn states that she never would have chosen to use the defendant’s metal hip implant, if she had known the risks associated with the device. The plaintiffs’ lawyers state that the defendant had the civil responsibility of warning Dawn and other consumers of all possible side effects of their products.

For being allegedly responsible for manufacturing, selling, distributing, and marketing a dangerous product, Dawn and her husband are suing DePuy Orthopaedics. The charges include: negligence, false advertising, concealing information, and misrepresenting a product.

This Metal Hip Implant Lawsuit is Case No. 3:15-cv-01646-K, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.

Overview of Metal Hip Implant Complications

DePuy released the Pinnacle Device onto the market in 2001, after it was released under the FDA’s 510(k) process. This protocol allows medical devices to be released into the market without pre-clinical trials, as long as it proves to work just as well as an already-released similar device.

According to experts, most metal-on-metal hip implants were released under this loophole after proving to work similarly to older metal hip implants, or their plastic or ceramic counterparts that have been on the market for much longer.

However, metal hip implants quickly overtook the prosthetic limb market as they were advertised to be longer-lasting and more durable, compared to plastic or ceramic models. Furthermore, metal hip implants soared in popularity with younger patients because they could be custom-fit to patients, and were said to be able to handle more physically-demanding activities like running.

However, it was not long after the release of metal hip implants that patients reported severe complications. In particular, experts noted that many patients suffered from a condition called metallosis, or blood-metal poisoning, due to the metal ions being shed into the bloodstream.

When the ball-and-socket joint of the metal hip implant interact, the particles are then released into the blood stream, which reportedly causes a multitude of problems. Other than metallosis, patients have reported infection, device failure, inflammation, bone loss, and severe tissue damage.

According to the FDA, there have been over 1,300 adverse event reports patients have submitted after suffering from metal hip implant complications. This has also caused numerous metal hip implant lawsuits to be filed against the company and others, by patients who reportedly suffered these complications and most likely had to have the device replaced.