A new study published in the British Medical Journal suggests that nearly a quarter of all hip implants used in hip replacement surgery are not adequately tested for safety and effectiveness.

The new study, published in December 2013, supports earlier research that metal on metal hip implants are prone to premature failure and were placed on the market without sufficient pre-clinical data. The studies back claims made in thousands of hip recall lawsuits filed against dozens of companies. So far millions of dollars in damages have been awarded to plaintiffs who suffered severe complications such as metal blood poisoning, infection, severe pain and other complications caused by a failed hip implant.

Much of the data from the BMJ study was collected through hip implant registry systems, which had been made available to the United Kingdom, Australia,and other counties as a way to keep track of both successful and unsuccessful hip replacement surgeries. Researchers found that “24% of all hip replacement implants available to surgeons in the U.K. have no evidence for their clinical effectiveness.”

The primary registry used in this study was from the 9^th annual report from the National Joint Registry of England and Wales (NJR). The NJR found that 10,617 hip implants and components had been implanted in British patients in 2011, with 8% of those procedures using untested parts or whole systems.

The untested parts may have contributed to the massive recalls of hundreds of thousands of hip implants in the United States after it was discovered they were prone to premature failure. The most massive hip recall involved the DePuy ASR in 2010, which the NJR found had a 12% to 13% failure rate. Later data suggested a failure rate as high as 30%

Other metal on metal hip implants facing litigation in the United States for complications include the DePuy Pinnacle, Stryker Rejuvenate, Zimmer Durom Hip Cup, Biomet M2a Magnum,  and Wright Conserve Hip Implant. Thousands of metal hip implant lawsuits have been filed by patients seeking compensation for their injuries.

The BMJ study concluded with researchers saying, “This study shows that the need still exists for an improved and more rigorous approach to regulation of [medical] devices to avoid devices with no available evidence being used in a widespread and uncontrolled manner.”

While the researchers acknowledged that the regulation of medical devices has always been a tricky subject in the medical community, it was agreed that hip replacement systems have lower standards.  This is especially dangerous because this means that more and more hip replacement devices get through to the market without proper medical testing.

In particular, when metal on metal hip implants were allowed to go through to the market, reports of device failure quickly flooded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), indicating corrosion, rusting, device failure, non-cancerous tumors, and metallosis.

Overview of Metal on Metal Hip Complications

The injuries mentioned above have been concluded to be caused by a design flaw in the metal on metal hip replacement system.  The design flaw is caused by the interaction between the metal ball-and-socket joint, which causes metal ions to corrode off one another and seep into the patient’s bloodstream.  This causes the metallic levels in the blood to rise, leading to metallosis, metal blood poisoning, tumors and more.

Many legal experts believe that the reason that many of these systems had such design flaws was because they were allowed to be processed through the FDA’s 510(k) premarket approval system.  This process allows medical devices to go through to market as long as a company can prove they work as well as a similar, already-released product.  In this process, there is no pre-clinical trials or studies required for the products to go through, making the initial efficiency completely unknown.

Free Legal Help for Victims of Hip Replacement Complications

If you or a loved received a metal on metal hip implant after January 1, 2009, and went to experience hip replacement complications such as dislocated hip, metal poisoning, cancer, tissue death, pain or other injury, there’s still time to take legal action against the device manufacturer. These companies have already paid out millions of dollars to victims. Don’t delay – see if you qualify to pursue compensation to cover your medical bills, pain and suffering and other damages at the Metal on Metal Hip Replacement Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.