DePuy May Face 4000 Hip Recall Lawsuits Because of Faulty Hip Implants

DePuy Orthopaedics might have already realized the severity of the troubles that they are currently in. They are not an unpopular company, after all, because Johnson & Johnson owns them. They have been even more well-known for inventing the ASR implants, namely the ASR XL Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System, that have been confirmed as defective by many research studies. This occurred after the Food and Drug Administration interfered, after thousands of dissatisfied recipients aired out their complaints. DePuy was left with no other choice but to announce a recall on their metal hip implants, but this will certainly not stop the patients to sue the company. A lawyer, as a matter of fact, estimates that DePuy might face at least 4, 000 hip recall lawsuits.

As what most reports have claimed, the ASR implants were made with metal-on-metal elements, in contrast to other hip implants invented by other manufacturers that have ceramic or metal-on-plastic components. Perhaps this ‘exceptional’ characteristic that DePuy made, apart from being a Johnson & Johnson company, was what caught the attention of the general public—something unique, from a trustworthy corporation. This kind of metal-on-metal characteristics, however, was the prime reason why the hip replacement operation failed for many of the recipients. The friction within the faulty hip devices apparently shed off quite a lot of metal debris, and these microscopic particles managed to circulate into the bloodstream, causing a state called metallosis. This is the condition wherein metal substances like cobalt and chromium, are present in the blood in tremendously toxic values that are risky enough to cause complications, such as closed fractures, heart problems and permanent disability.

4,000 lawsuits might seem a big figure, enough to scare DePuy off; but think about the 93, 000 American recipients, and how the implants can affect one in every eight of them. More victims are probably out there, wondering if the act of filing a DePuy hip recall lawsuit is the right thing to do. Hip recall lawyers will definitely advise you that pressing charges might be the smartest move you can make—your rights are defended, and you can claim fair compensation for the damages.