Cobalt and Chromium Poisoning: DePuy Hip Lawsuit
Attorneys Fred Pritzker and David Szerlag have filed lawsuits against DePuy. Contact them for a free consultation about your cobalt and chromium poisoning case.
Attorneys Fred Pritzker and David Szerlag are representing clients with cobalt and chromium poisoning from their DePuy ASR hip replacement (DePuy ASR™ XL Acetabular System). Many of our clients have had revision surgery (surgery to replace the DePuy ASR hip. Fred and David are seeking compensation for medical expenses, loss of income, pain and suffering, disability, emotional distress, loss of quality of life and other damages. They recently won over $20,000,000 for clients who were injured by another medical product and have the experience to represent you in a lawsuit against DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. and others, including Johnson & Johnson, which owns DePuy.
You should contact our attorneys for a free consultation HERE.
Cobalt and Chromium Poisoning Personal Injury
Metal-on-metal hip replacement systems, including the DePuy ASR Hip, can increase the level of chromium and cobalt in the blood and cause serious injury, including the following:
- Renal damage (kidney failure)
- Liver damage
- Heart problems
- Tissue necrosis (death of tissue around the artificial hip due to build up of chromium and cobalt particles)
- Ulcers
- Anemia
In addition, increases in chromium and cobalt ion levels over time may be suggestive of significant and/or continuing device wear of the DePuy ASR hip, which may lead to failure of the device requiring revision surgery (surgery to remove the DePuy ASR hip and replace it with another artificial hip that is not metal-on-metal).
The problem is that there is not a consensus in the medical community as to the level of chromium or cobalt at which revision surgery is advised. If there is substantial pain, worsening pain, limp or poor function, there is no question that revision surgery should be done. However, substantial damage to tissue and organs (kidney, liver, heart) could happen before there is pain in the area of the hip implant.
If you have a DePuy hip implant, you may be waiting too long before you have revision surgery. Contact Attorneys Fred Pritzker and David Szerlag HERE for a free consultation regarding a DePuy hip lawsuit. They have filed lawsuits for DePuy hip patients throughout the United States and are working with patients who need revision surgery but have been told to wait.
Cobalt Poisoning Symptoms and DePuy ASR Hip Revision Surgery
Cobalt poisoning is a risk for patients with DePuy ASR™ XL Acetabular System total hip replacements. Cobalt is a metal alloy used to make the DePuy ASR artificial hips. When the metal parts of the DePuy ASR rub together, it causes metal corrosion and releases cobalt (and chromium) ions into the blood. The build up of cobalt can cause cobalt poisoning, also referred to as cobalt toxicity.
As cobalt builds up, the symptoms become more serious. Symptoms of cobalt poisoning include the following:
Pain (by the time there is pain, tissue may already be dead)
Visual impairment (in some cases, blindness)
Cardiomyopathy (possible heart failure)
Cognitive impairment (memory loss, slow cognition)
Hearing loss (tinnitus, deafness)
Diminished coordination
Hypothyroidism
Headaches
Irritability
Anxiety
Rashes
Hip creaking
Hand tremor
Lack of energy (listlessness)
Some patients who waited for pain before having revision surgery (surgery to replace the DePuy ASR hip), are finding they have permanent damage, including necrosis (death) of the tissue around the implant. In addition, although removal of the DePuy ASR hip implant may provide relief for some of the symptoms above, some patients are finding that vision loss and other complications continue to be an issue.
You may be damaging your health by waiting to get hip revision surgery. Contact Attorneys Fred Pritzker and David Szerlag for information regarding a DePuy hip revision lawsuit.
Our law firm is representing DePuy ASR hip patients throughout the United States, including Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota and Fargo, North Dakota.
Metal Hip Replacement Failure Lawsuits
When metal-on-metal hip replacement implants fail, they increase the amount of wear and produce debris particles (ions) of cobalt and chromium, which are alloys used in the implants. These cobalt and chromium ions can cause erosion of bone and loosening of the implants. In some cases cobalt and chromium toxicity concentrated around the metal-on-metal implant can cause death of tissue cells (called necrosis), including those of the muscles, tendons, nerves and bones. This causes permanent damage and disability.
Are you worried about metal hip replacement failure? Has your doctor found traces of cobalt and chromium in your blood but told you to wait and see if there is a problem?
Our law firm can help. Attorney David Szerlag is lead attorney for our cobalt and chromium poisoning cases. He and our litigation team have filed several lawsuits against one manufacturer of metal-on-metal hip replacement implants, DePuy Orthopaedics, owned by Johnson & Johnson, and he is investigating cases involving other manufacturers. Contact David for a free consultation.
- David is involved in getting our metal hip replacement failure lawsuits through multidistrict litigation (MDL), a process like a class action lawsuit.
- If you hire our law firm, you will not have to pay any upfront fees, and we are not paid unless you win.
- David’s experience includes a leading role in recently obtaining tens of millions of dollars for people injured by another medical product.
