A California couple has recently filed a new hip replacement lawsuit naming DePuy and Johnson & Johnson as defendants and claiming that their Pinnacle Hip Replacement Device was defective.

In their hip replacement lawsuit, plaintiffs Terry S. and Dawn S. allege that as a result of Terry being implanted with DePuy’s Pinnacle Ultamet Metal on Metal Hip Implant System, he suffered many injuries and holds the defendants responsible.

New Hip Replacement Lawsuit

Terry was implanted with the Pinnacle Device at the University of California, San Diego. Soon after, he discovered that he was suffering from significant discomfort, pain, stiffness and loss of motion.

According to this hip replacement lawsuit, he claims that he “has been or is at risk for metal toxicity due to elevated cobalt and chromium metal ions from this implant, as well as suffered damage to his hip joint manifesting as implant loosening, metallosis, necrosis, soft tissue damage, muscle damage, and other injuries.”

Because of these complications, it was determined that Terry would need to undergo a hip replacement revision surgery.

Hip replacement revision surgery comes with higher risks than the original hip replacement surgery.

One Boston study found that 14.4% of patients who underwent a revision surgery suffered from hip dislocation. Only 3.9% of patients who underwent an original hip replacement surgery had the same complications.

In essence, revision surgery holds a four times greater risk of hip dislocation than hip replacement surgery.

In their hip replacement lawsuit, Terry claims he will continue to need medical treatment and that he has suffered economic damages (including medical expenses), injury, loss of consortium, pain, suffering and emotional distress.

The Pinnacle Device

DePuy’s Pinnacle device was launched in 2001 and was designed to help those patients who have suffered damaged or diseased hip joints due to fracture, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, avascular necrosis or other degenerative conditions.

The Pinnacle Device was promoted as having an advantage over other hip replacement systems. It was marketed to those who wanted to continue an active lifestyle and claimed “a more fluid range of natural motion.”

DePuy has stated in marketing materials that “99.9% of Pinnacle Hip components are still in use today.”

The Pinnacle Device is designed like the human hip, as a ball-in-socket. It is made up of four components: the metal stem that is inserted inside the femur bone, the metal ball that connects to the top of the stem,  the liner that is attached to the inside portion of the metal socket and the socket itself.

The liner and the metal ball are made of cobalt-chromium and the socket is made of titanium. If a Pinnacle Device has this cobalt-chromium liner (the Ultamet liner) it is considered a “metal-on-metal” hip replacement device.

The metal ball and the socket liner move against one another and, allegedly, can cause grave complications for the patient. The metals in the Pinnacle Device can poison the patient, and patients with this device have levels of chromium and cobalt that exceed safety standards.

Other complications of metal on metal hip replacement devices include non-cancerous cysts, tissue infection and device failure.

Terry and Dawn are claiming that DePuy knew about the potential complications and did nothing to notify the public or medical community. The hip replacement lawsuit states that was not adequately tested by DePuy.

The plaintiffs raise claims of negligence, failure to warn, design defect, breaches of express and implied warranty, fraud, unjust enrichment, loss of consortium and punitive damages.

The DePuy Pinnacle Hip Replacement Lawsuit is Case No. 3:11-MD-2244-K in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.