DePuy faces a metal on metal hip implant lawsuit claiming that its Pinnacle hip system led to implant failure, causing the patient to die during revision surgery.

Plaintiff Daniel A. reportedly had the DePuy Pinnacle metal on metal hip implant replacement surgery on his left hip in August 2009. Defects reportedly caused the implant to kill the surrounding bone and tissue, leading to early implant failure. The failure of his implant allegedly led Daniel to require revision surgery in January 2019. He died during the procedure.

Daniel’s surviving siblings – Lisa M., Maria C., and Barbara A. – are suing Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary DePuy. They argue that their brother would not have died during revision surgery if the DePuy Pinnacle hip implant was not defective. Had that been the case, they argue, Daniel would not have needed surgery and would be alive today.

“As a result of these defects, [Daniel’s] DePuy Pinnacle Hip System failed in his body, causing excessive and toxic levels of cobalt and chromium, tissue and bone destruction, and pain and suffering that required (Daniel) to undergo complicated and risky surgery to remove and replace the defective implant which caused his death,” the metal on metal hip implant lawsuit claims.

The siblings also bring claims against Dr. Thomas P. Schmalzried, the doctor who designed the Pinnacle hip system. Schmalzried reportedly collects royalties for each Pinnacle hip sold by DePuy and, according to reports, the doctor has pocketed more than $4 million in profits. The siblings claim that Schmalzried designed a defective product and should be held liable for the consequences of its alleged defects.

Pinnacle’s alleged design defect is accused of causing the metal acetabular insert and metal femoral head to grind against each other, leading to the release of toxic cobalt and chromium debris, resulting in damage to the tissue and bone surrounding the implant. The metal debris can lead the body to reject the hip implant, and result in symptoms such as pain, instability, dislocation, and squeaking or popping sounds from the joint. The metal debris can also lead to fluid buildup, pseudotumor formation, and bone and tissue death.

DePuy has recalled more than 93,000 of its other metal on metal hip implants, the ASR and ASR XL implants. The metal on metal hip lawsuit claims that the Pinnacle hip implant should have also been recalled but was not due to negligence by DePuy and Johnson & Johnson.

In February 2019, CNBC reported that the plaintiffs and their lawyers were “getting close” to a massive settlement that would resolve claims against DePuy and Johnson & Johnson regarding the Pinnacle hip implant.

In May 2019, details of the settlement deal were revealed. Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay about $1 billion to resolve some 95 percent of the 6,000 pending metal on metal hip implant suits, according to Bloomberg.

The Metal on Metal Hip Implant Lawsuit is Case No. 2:19-cv-07277-RGK-GJS in the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles.