A Nebraska man is suing DePuy Orthopaedics for the injuries he allegedly sustained from using the company’s metal hip implant.

Plaintiff Richard Bollman claims that as the direct result of using DePuy’s metal-on-metal hip implant, the Pinnacle Acetabular Cup System, he developed serious hip replacement complications including metallosis and non-cancerous cysts, according to his metal-on-metal hip replacement lawsuit.

In order to replace a failing hip joint, Bollman underwent hip replacement surgery to have the metal hip implant inserted on Oct. 15, 2007. Initially, the surgery appeared to be successful and the plaintiff recovered well after the procedure. Unfortunately, soon after the surgery, Bollman reported feeling extreme pain and immobility, which eventually forced him to undergo diagnostic testing.

It revealed that the hip joint area was infected, the device had failed, and he had extremely high levels of metal in his blood, indicating metallosis. Due to the metal hip complications he was experiencing with the Pinnacle device, Bollman underwent revision surgery on Nov. 10, 2010. Bollman says he still contends with severe pain, and now has to contend with limited mobility.

With the revision surgery being more complicated than the initial implantation procedure, Bollman has incurred massive medical debts and has been unable to earn any sufficient income. Bollman’s legal team states that DePuy has financial obligation to their client, because he had suffered these injuries after having their Pinnacle device implanted into him.

Bollman states that at the time he had chosen to use the Pinnacle device, he was not told about the metal-on-metal hip implant side effects he might face. Therefore, he was unable to make a reasonable decision at the time his doctors recommended the Pinnacle device.

Additionally, Bollman states that DePuy had the civil responsibility to warn him and other patients in the United States about the risks their products carry because they rely on the accuracy of the given information. Bollman states that he never would have used the Pinnacle device if he had known about the possible adverse metal hip implant side effects.

The charges against DePuy Orthopaedics include: negligence, false advertising, concealing information, and misrepresenting a product.

The Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Lawsuit is Richard Bollman v. DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., et al., Case No. 3:14-cv-02268-K, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. It has been added to the DePuy Multidistrict Litigation, In Re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. Pinnacle Device Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2244, in the same federal court.

Overview of Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacement Complications

DePuy Orthopaedics first created and marketed the Pinnacle device in the early 2000s, but had started feeling the weight of DePuy lawsuits for its alleged design defects in 2007.

The Pinnacle device is a metal-on-metal hip implant, which was developed with the notion that it would outperform its ceramic and plastic cousins. Based on pre-clinical studies, metal-on-metal hip implants were believed to last longer and had higher durability than the alternative products.

Additionally, these metal hip implants were popular amongst younger patients because they could be custom-fit to their frame, and could handle harsher friction movements like running.

Unfortunately, DePuy and many patients discovered that the Pinnacle device also had the same design flaws as other metal-on-metal hip implants. When the ball-and-socket joint of the artificial limbs would interact, metal ions would be shed into the bloodstream, creating a variety of problems. These complications reportedly included the formation of non-cancerous cysts, metallosis, tissue infection, and device failure.