A resident of Utah has filed a total hip replacement lawsuit against DePuy Orthopaedics, alleging its Pinnacle hip implant system is defective, unsafe, and has not been adequately tested.

Plaintiff David S. underwent a right total hip replacement surgery in Dec. 2003 and a subsequent hip replacement surgery for his left hip in July 2004.  In both surgeries he received a DePuy Pinnacle hip implant.

Following the surgery, David began suffering severe pain and discomfort and was forced to have a bilateral hip revision surgery in Nov. 2015.

He continues to undergo medical monitoring and rehabilitation as an alleged direct result of the defective nature of the Pinnacle hip implant system, according to his total hip replacement lawsuit.

David contends that had DePuy not concealed the known defects, the early failure rate, and the known complications and risks associated with the Pinnacle device, he would not have consented to the Pinnacle implant being used in his total hip replacement surgery.

DePuy Fast Tracks Pinnacle Hip Implant Approval

The DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement system received FDA approval through the expedited 510(k) process, which only requires a manufacturer to show that its medical device is substantially similar to devices already available on the market. Manufacturers are able to bypass rigorous pretrial testing and FDA inspection.

If DePuy had been required to undergo the standard approval process, it is probable that the severe hip replacement complications stemming from the metal-on-metal hip implants would have been detected and the implants would not have been cleared for patient use.

DePuy’s Pinnacle hip replacement system is critically different than most hip replacement devices because a metal acetabular liner is used instead of a plastic acetabular liner.

This metal-on-metal design can force the metal components to rub against each other with the full weight and pressure of the human body, creating metallic debris to be released into the patient’s hip socket and blood stream, a serious condition known as metallosis or blood poisoning.

Due to this complication, many patients, like David S., have been forced to undergo surgeries to replace the failed hip implants.

Filing a Total Hip Replacement Lawsuit

As of July 2016, more than 8,000 cases over DePuy’s Pinnacle hip implant have been consolidated into federal multidistrict litigation in Texas, which was established in 2011.  Two of seven selected bellwether trials have already gone to trial.

In March, a Texas federal jury slapped DePuy Orthopaedics with a $500 million judgment in favor of a quintet of plaintiffs who blamed the Pinnacle implant for their injuries.

After a 2-month trial, jurors found that the Ultamet metal-on-metal version of the Pinnacle hips were defectively designed and that DePuy failed to warn patients about the risks, awarding $130 million in total compensatory damages and $360 million in punitive damages.

DePuy won the first bellwether trial the MDL in October 2014. The third bellwether trial is slated to begin Sept. 6.

Many of these total hip replacement lawsuits claim injuries that include metal poisoning in their blood. According to the Pinnacle total hip replacement lawsuits, patients say the metal-on-metal hip replacement system was defective because pieces rubbed together, causing metal to leach.

David’s Total Hip Replacement Lawsuit is filed within In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. Pinnacle Device Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2244 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.