A woman from New Jersey filed a lawsuit against DePuy Orthopaedics over hip implant complications, seeking to add her claim to the current multidistrict litigation.
Plaintiff Patricia M. says that in May 2007 she underwent a total replacement of her right hip using a Pinnacle artificial hip system manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics.
She claims that after the surgery the metal-on-metal hip implant shed cobalt and chromium metal ions into the tissue around the implant, causing severe pain, discomfort and inflammation. Her symptoms have been so severe that she has been told she will need hip revision surgery to remove the implant, she says.
Now Patricia is arguing that defendants DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., DePuy Inc. and DePuy International Ltd. should be liable for compensation for her injuries.
She says the Pinnacle hip implant system is defective and unreasonably dangerous, and had she known so she would not have consented to using it in her hip implant surgery.
According to Patricia’s hip implant lawsuit, the Pinnacle hip implant system uses a ball-and-socket joint in which a metal femoral head (the ball) makes direct contact with a cobalt-chromium metal liner inside the acetabular cup (the socket).
Patricia says this metal-on-metal design releases particles of cobalt and chromium into the recipient’s body, causing “metallosis, tissue death, bone erosion, and development of tumors.”
Patricia also accuses DePuy of using a special FDA approval process as an end-run around having to more rigorously test the device before putting it on the market.
The regular approval process for medical devices like the Pinnacle system requires among other things that the manufacturer to conduct clinical investigations into the device’s safety and effectiveness and submit the results of those investigations.
But this full approval process is not required for new devices that are “substantially equivalent” to older devices approved before the 1976 Medical Device Amendments to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act.
This expedited approval, known as the 510(k) process, is what DePuy used to get FDA approval for the Pinnacle implant, which according to Patricia’s hip implant lawsuit occurred “with virtually no clinical or non-clinical trials or FDA review of the implant for safety and effectiveness.”
Had DePuy conducted adequate trials of the Pinnacle system, Patricia says, they would have discovered that the implant leads to metal toxicity and a high rate of failure.
In addition to causing pain and discomfort, Patricia says this metal toxicity can kill tissue surrounding the implant and can lead to bone loss, which itself can lead to a loosening of the implant and loss of mobility.
Patricia filed her hip implant lawsuit in her home state of New Jersey and simultaneously requested that it be transferred into the multidistrict litigation over DePuy metal hip implants, which is now going on in a Texas federal court.
This multidistrict litigation, or MDL, is a consolidation of several individual DePuy hip lawsuits into a single court to facilitate a faster and more consistent pre-trial process.
Nine cases in the MDL are scheduled to go to trial in January 2016. Including the cases in the MDL, there are now thousands of claims over the Pinnacle implant system pending throughout the U.S.
The DePuy Hip Implant MDL is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas under MDL No. 2244.
Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The hip implant attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, metal hip implant lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.
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Join a Free Metal Hip Replacement Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
If you or a loved one had a metal-on-metal hip implant that failed or caused serious complications, you may be entitled to compensation. Hip replacement lawsuits are being filed now against multiple companies, including Stryker, Biomet, DePuy, Zimmer, and Wright. See if you qualify to take legal action by filling out the form below.
An attorney will contact you if you qualify to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you.
- First Name*
- Last Name*
- Street Address*
- Apt. #
- City*
- State*
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- Zip Code*
- Phone*
- Email*
- What year did you/your loved one receive a metal on metal hip implant?*
- Was the original hip implant surgery after January 1, 2009?*
YesNo
- Did you/your loved one need revision surgery?*
YesNo
- If applicable, what year did you/your loved one have your original hip implant replaced?
- Please select which symptoms you or your loved one were medically diagnosed with:*
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Failure of the metal on metal hip implant requiring early replacement.
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Dislocated Hip.
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Leaking of toxic substances in your bloodstream from your hip implant like chromium or cobalt.
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Cancer.
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Degenerative Heart Disease or Cardiomyopathy.
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Loss of bone strength or structure which can result in bone fractures.
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Tissue death for any tissue surrounding the implant.
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Non-cancerous tumors or pseudotumors around the hip implant.
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Cobalt poisoning.
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Metallosis or metal poisoning due to chromium or cobalt particles from the hip implant leaking into nearby tissue or the patient’s bloodstream.
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Not Listed (please detail the symptoms in the comments section if this is selected.)
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- ¿Necesita un orador español?
- Yes
- No
- Please enter any additional details you would like the staff reviewing your submission to know.*
- I understand and agree that submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship and that the information I submit is not confidential or privileged and may be shared.*
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Yes
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