Woman Sues DePuy after Multiple Hip Revision Surgeries

North Carolina plaintiff Teresa L. Bowers is suing DePuy Orthopaedics for the injuries she allegedly sustained from their metal on metal hip implant, the Pinnacle Acetabular Cup. Bowers alleges that she suffered from severe pain and suffering, and developed metallosis as a direct result of the metal hip system.

Bowers initially had the Pinnacle device implanted to replace her left and right hips on Sept. 17, 2007. The procedure had gone normally, and the surgeons had reported no hip replacement complications during the surgery. However, soon after the hip replacement surgery the plaintiff started experiencing pain in the surgical areas. Medical testing revealed that there were high levels of metal ions in her blood, and that the tissue in the operated areas was suffering from infection.

Bowers underwent hip revision surgery for her right hip on Sept. 23, 2013, and on her left hip on Oct. 18, 2013. Both surgeries required her to stay in the hospital for extended periods of time, and have incurred expensive medical bills, which show no sign of slowing. Bowers still must undergo regular medical testing and checkups, due to her blood metal poisoning and infection.

At no point in time was she or her physicians were aware that the side effects she suffered could occur from this product, Bowers claims in the DePuy hip lawsuit. There were no warnings or indications on the product’s label, nor were there any special instructions for the surgeons to follow. The defendant company made no effort to notify the plaintiff or her physicians of these possibilities, to which the plaintiff argues, they had the responsibility of performing.

So for being directly responsible for manufacturing, selling, marketing, and distributing a dangerous product, Bowers is suing DePuy Orthopaedics. The charges include: negligence, false advertising, concealing information, and misrepresenting a product.

Overview of DePuy Pinnacle Hip Replacement Complications

Like most metal on metal hip replacement systems, the Pinnacle hip implant was designed and developed for the purpose of replacing hip bones and joints in human patients. These patients would often be suffering from: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, avascular necrosis (AVN), fracture, and other debilitating conditions.

The Pinnacle hip implant is composed of a cobalt-chromium metal liner, that DePuy calls the “Ultamet”, that is specifically designed to be biologically safe to be inserted into humans. Supposedly, this alloy was designed to be rust and corrosion free, which would have ideally absolved the Pinnacle from the complications other metal-on-metal hip modules were facing. These complications were: infection, pain and suffering, device failure, and metallosis, also known as blood-metal poisoning. According to medical experts, the metal poisoning was occurring because the ball and socket joints rubbing together caused metal ions from the device to be shed into the body.

At the time the Pinnacle hip was approved, DePuy had chosen to bypass the FDA’s required premarket testing, by going through the agency’s 510(k) policy. This rule states that as long as the device is proven to work just as well as a similar device already released on the market, the pre-approved device is assumed to be just as efficient. This was obviously proven to be untrue, because as of now, DePuy has received approximately 1,300 injury reports allegedly caused by Pinnacle Devices.

DePuy Metal Hip Litigation Movement

Due to the nature of this case, Bowers’ lawsuit is being moved to an MDL centered in Northern Texas. There, she will join other plaintiffs who allege similar injuries, and are seeking the same damages. These damages include: medical compensation, pain and suffering, and other punitive charges.

In Re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. Pinnacle Device Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2244, in the United States District Court of Northern Texas.

Help for Hip Replacement Injury Victims

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.