A North Carolina woman says Pinnacle metal hip failure caused her to undergo a second hip replacement surgery.

Plaintiff Karen L. has filed a DePuy Pinnacle hip implant lawsuit in a multidistrict litigation centered around Pinnacle device implant products liability.

Karen says she underwent a total right hip arthroscopy in May of 2002. In reliance on the information in DePuy’s promotional materials, she says she chose the Pinnacle hip system, which included an acetabular cup and an acetabular liner.

The acetabular liner directly articulates with the chosen prosthetic femoral head and stem. In the Pinnacle system, the liner may be made of a cobalt-chromium alloy, ceramic, or plastic.

According to the narrative of the DePuy Pinnacle metal hip failure lawsuit, the defendants promoted the Pinnacle system with a brochure that says the metal-on-metal “articulation system is leading the way in advanced technology. Through years of careful engineering, research and expertise, we’ve created a total hip replacement solution that offers low wear and high stability.”

Pinnacle Metal Hip Failure and Other Metal-on-Metal Prosthetic Issues

In September of 2016, the plaintiff says she required explantation of the hip device after total Pinnacle metal hip failure. The Pinnacle metal hip failure was heralded by severe pain, inflammation, and generalized discomfort in the right hip.

Upon further investigation, Karen says she was found to have metallosis, or toxic levels of chromium and cobalt in her blood secondary to the shedding of metal debris in the joint.

She says she also developed an infection in the area, along with a pseudotumor. Psuedotumors sometimes grow in response to the presence of metal ions and debris in the area. They can promote a state of significant pain in the least and tissue death in severe situations.

The problems the plaintiff alleges with her Pinnacle hip system were not unlike the problems experienced by other recipients of metal-on-metal hip prosthetics. Karen alleges the manufacturers heavily promoted the benefits of these systems while failing to address the negative results of clinical studies and aftermarket reports.

This multidistrict litigation, or MDL, was set up in the Northern District of Texas on June 29, 2011. The named defendants are DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. and Johnson and Johnson Inc. DePuy is a fully-owned subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson.

Karen L. is bringing the following counts against the defendants: Count One—Strict Products Liability, Defective Design; Count Two—Strict Products Liability, Manufacturing Design; Count Three—Strict Products Liability, Failure to Warn; Count Four–Negligence; Count Five—Negligence Per Se; Count Six—Negligent Misrepresentation; Count Seven—Fraudulent Concealment; Count Eight—Breach of Express Warranty; Count Nine—Breach of Implied Warranty; Count Ten–Fraud; and Count Eleven—Punitive Damages.

The plaintiff is asking for compensation for financial and non-financial elements of her case as proven at trial. These elements include lost wages, medical bills, emotional and physical pain and suffering, as well as costs to bring case to court including court and attorney fees and incidental expenses. She hopes for punitive damages to be levied against the defendants according to evidence provided.

The Pinnacle Metal Hip Failure Lawsuit is Case No. 3:17-cv-03360-K in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.