Patients are joining a growing multi-district litigation claiming a DePuy hip implant is defective.

Plaintiff Patricia T. claims that she had the DePuy hip implant placed in her left hip on or about Oct. 30, 2006, at the Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck, New York. She claims that after the device was implanted into her body, she experienced symptoms that she claims were caused by the device’s failure.

She seeks damages for physical and economic injury incurred by the device’s alleged defects.

Patricia, along with many other patients, claim that the DePuy ASR hip implant possesses a design flaw that causes it to not be able to perform as advertised and intended. Allegedly, these design flaws cause significant danger to patients who have had the deceit installed.

Allegedly, the design of the DePuy hip implant causes various metal components to rub on one another, releasing toxic substances into the body. Side-effects of this occurrence include:

• an increased risk of cancer due to toxic substances being released into the body from the implant
• cardiomyopathy, a degenerative heart disease
• premature failure of the hip implant, requiring revision surgery
• the development of non-cancerous tumors around the hip implant, causing pain, swelling, inflammation, and severe discomfort
• tissue death around the implant
• metallosis, or metal poisoning, due to metal particles being released into the body
• loss of bone strength or structure, possibly resulting in bone fractures

According to Patricia, she experienced symptoms including, but not limited to “extreme pain, discomfort, soreness, swelling, malaise, loss of energy, immobilization, acute localized damage to tissue and/or bone around the acetabulum, systemic injuries, past injury, present injury, future injury, medical expenses, increased risk of failure of future hip implants, and complications of revision surgery.”

Patricia claims that the failure of her DePuy hip implant, and the injury it caused her, required her to have a revision surgery on June 13, 2017. Patricia claims that the risk of complications is higher after a revision surgery are higher than those of an initial hip replacement surgery, and had the DePuy ASR hip implant performed as it should have, she would not have had to incur the risks of a revision surgery.

Patricia claims that she had no way of knowing that the DePuy hip implant was defective until the DePuy ASR hip system was subject to a recall in 2010, based on its defects and the injury it allegedly causes. Patricia also claims that DePuy Orthopaedics Inc, the company that manufactures the DePuy hip implant, should have known that device was defective and caused injury long before the recall.

Allegedly, DePuy did not notify patients or medical providers that the device was defective, thereby knowingly endangering patients. Patricia and other patients accuse the company of fraudulent concealment, breach of warranty, fraudulent misrepresentation, misrepresentation by omission, negligence, infliction of emotional distress, and other claims.

The DePuy Hip Implant Lawsuit is Case 1:18-dp-20032-JJH, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division.