A woman has joined a multidistrict DePuy hip litigation because of failed right and left hip implants.

In November 2009, plaintiff Linda R. underwent a total left hip replacement surgery and was implanted with a DePuy Pinnacle hip system that included a metal-on-metal liner. This Pinnacle hip system is known as the Pinnacle MoM device. It’s made by defendant DePuy Orthopaedics, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

In January 2012, Linda had her right hip replaced with the same type of Pinnacle MoM device.

According to the DePuy hip litigation, “Soon after her surgeries, she began experiencing pain and difficulty with her implants.”

Linda alleges that the metal-on-metal hip system allowed the release of toxic cobalt-chromium metal debris to be released into her body, where the tiny metal shavings settled into the tissue that surrounded her implants. She experienced severe pain and inflammation in both her hip and thigh areas. Walking, sitting and standing all caused her to suffer extreme discomfort, she says.

DePuy Hip Litigation Alleges Negligence

DePuy allegedly concealed that the Pinnacle MoM Device was “defective and unsafe” by failing to issue a recall or to warn the medical community and patients of the potential injuries the device could cause.

Linda says she had revision surgery on her right hip to remove the Pinnacle Device and received a non-metal-on-metal hip implant system in October 2017. Because of the damage caused to her bone and tissue, she continues to suffer severe pain.

The DePuy hip litigation accuses the company of negligence for not conducting adequate tests to determine the product was safe.

DePuy also is accused of misrepresenting the benefits of the Pinnacle MoM Device by advertising it as a “superior device featuring ‘TrueGlide’ technology, allowing the body to create a thin film of lubrication between surfaces, which enables ‘a more fluid range of natural motion.’”

Linda claims the company knew or should have known that such film lubrication does not occur often and “is not present during the majority of movements of the Pinnacle MoM Device.”

DePuy claims that 99.9 percent of Pinnacle hip components are still in use. But according to Linda’s DePuy hip litigation, the actual survival rate of the hip implant was lower, and DePuy knows it.

Linda says she suffers from loss of mobility, loss of range of motion, constant pain, a risk of future revision surgeries, and the need for lifelong medical treatment. In addition, patients who undergo revision surgeries have a greater risk of complications and death.

The DePuy hip litigation says that if Linda had known the truth about the risks of being implanted with the Pinnacle MoM Devices, “she would not have taken such action and risk.”

DePuy’s alleged misrepresentation of the Pinnacle as a safe and superior choice was “fraudulent, malicious, oppressive, (and) willfull.”

The DePuy Hip Litigation Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-00174-K in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.