DePuy Orthopaedics is facing legal action from numerous patients alleging they had to undergo at least one hip revision operation due to injuries caused by their metal on metal ASR hip implants.

These claims have been consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL), with one of the most recent DePuy ASR hip implant lawsuits filed by a woman from Georgia alleging she had to undergo a hip revision operation due to the allegedly defective nature of the metal on metal hip implant.

Plaintiff Karen B. alleges she had to undergo at least one hip revision operation due to complications related to the design flaws of the metal on metal ASR hip implant.

According to the lawsuit, Karen had the DePuy ASR hip implant placed on her right side on Aug. 11, 2009 for typical treatment purposes. However, she alleges it was not long after the all metal hip replacement system was implanted that Karen started experiencing problems.

Overview of DePuy ASR Hip Implant Complications

The DePuy ASR hip implant is a metal on metal hip replacement prosthetic system typically recommended for patients suffering from damaged or deteriorating hip joints.

DePuy markets the metal on metal hip replacement system as a safe and reliable prosthetic system. Karen alleges that DePuy fails to describe potential device complications that would cause a need for a hip revision operation on the product’s warning label.

Karen says that she had no way of knowing about the device’s potentially defective nature, or the risks surrounding metal on metal hip replacements. According to the DePuy ASR hip implant lawsuit, Karen discovered the alleged defect in her hip implant around the time DePuy recalled these metal on metal hip replacement systems in August 2010.

However, even without the recall, Karen says she still would have suffered serious device complications due to the allegedly defective nature of the DePuy ASR hip implant. According to the DePuy ASR hip implant lawsuit, Karen had undergone a hip revision operation on Nov. 16, 2018 when the device was completely removed.

The lawsuit also points out that Karen’s medical records indicate that her previous blood work had shown excessive amounts of cobalt and chromium poisoning her body. According to the lawsuit, when the all metal hip implant components interact, metal ions are shed into the bloodstream and can cause the patient to suffer the effects of metallosis or blood metal poisoning.

The metal debris can also cause a number of other serious complications including:

• Fretting
• Corrosion
• Infection
• Debilitating Pain
• Limited Range of Motion
• Formation of Pseudotumors

Karen opted to file this DePuy ASR hip implant lawsuit after discovering the high failure rate associated with this metal on metal hip replacement system. Karen states she would not have agreed to have the DePuy ASR hip implant if she had known about the device’s high failure right.

Karen’s DePuy ASR hip implant lawsuit is joining MDL No. 2197, where it will be streamlined through the litigation process.

This DePuy ASR Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-dp-20096-JJH, in the U.S. District Court of Northern Ohio, Western Division.