DePuy Hip Revision Surgery Lawsuit: 5 Things You Need to Know
Attorney Fred Pritzker 
Attorney David Szerlag and I are representing several people just like you who have had DePuy hip revision surgery or will need it in the future. These cases involve the DePuy ASR™ XL Acetabular System, manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. (DePuy), a company owned by Johnson & Johnson (J&J).
Below are 5 Things you need to know about your DePuy hip revision surgery lawsuit:
- You have claims against DePuy J&J if your DePuy ASR has failed or is failing. Legal claims for money damages in these cases generally include strict liability, breach of contract and negligence. These claims are listed in the the legal document used to file a lawsuit against the companies.
- You are not alone. Thousands of people have had to have revision surgery, and you can join them now to make sure DePuy and Johnson & Johnson are held accountable.
- Your case deserves individual attention. Your legal claims may be similar to those of other DePuy hip victims, but you are a unique person. The amount of money you ask for in a DePuy lawsuit should reflect your specific circumstances. This requires an attorney who takes the time to get to know you.
- DePuy hip revision surgery cases have been consolidated in multidistrict litigation (MDL). This means that the pretrial proceedings (gathering of evidence and pretrial motions) have been consolidated. MDL is not a class action lawsuit, however. Your hip lawsuit against J&J and DePuy remains separate for trial purposes.
- Your lawsuit should seek compensation for future expenses, losses and pain. How much money will you have to spend in the future because of the defective DePuy hip? Will you be able to keep your job? Will you suffer physical pain after the revision surgery? Will you have to give up a hobby or change your life in other ways? All of these questions need to be answered to determine what your case is worth.
Your case matters to me and my litigation team.
Get your free case review today.Attorneys Fred Pritzker and David Szerlag recently won over $20 million for people injured by another medical product. They represent clients throughout the United States. The main law firm offices are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. David has offices in Boston, MA and Providence, RI.
States and cities where patients may reside include the following: New York City, Los Angeles, CA, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Chicago, IL, Houston, TX, Dallas, Austin, Phoenix, AR, Philadelphia, PA, Detroit, MI, Baltimore, MD, Denver, CO, Nashville, TN, Milwaukee, WI, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, NV, Portland, Oregon, Atlanta, GA, Omaha, NE, Virginia Beach, Cleveland, Ohio, Dayton, Cincinnati, Wichita, KS, St. Louis, MO, New Orleans, LA, Bismarck, ND, Sioux Falls, SD, Des Moines, IA, Newark, NJ, Hartford, Connecticut, Manchester, New Hampshire, Duluth, Moorhead, Brainerd, Mankato.
DePuy Hip Recall: Attorneys Licensed in IA, MA, MN and RI
Our attorneys have filed DePuy hip recall lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson and DePuy Orthopaedics. Attorney David Szerlag, lead attorney for our DePuy cases, is licensed in Massachusetts, Minnesota and Rhode Island. David recently won over $20 million for clients injured by another medical product.
Attorney Elliot Olsen is licensed to practice law in Minnesota and Iowa. He is on the DePuy litigation team and focuses on product liability and medical malpractice issues.
DePuy Hip Recall Investigation
Attorney David Szerlag and his team are investigating the facts surrounding the DePuy recall for our clients. One of the issues is the timing of the recall, which came months after reports of early failure of the DePuy ASR™ XL Acetabular System and cases of chromium and cobalt poisoning. The recall involved sending information to surgeons telling them not to implant DePuy ASR hip replacements and to return any unused implants to the manufacturer.
Our DePuy hip recall investigation is uncovering evidence to prove that DePuy’s ASR XL Acetabular Hip System, a device used in hip replacement surgery, was defectively designed and/or manufactured, and that DePuy failed to provide adequate warnings concerning the device, which DePuy recalled in August 2010.
Attorney David Szerlag and his team are available for a free consultation to DePuy hip patients in Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Rhode Island. All patients, even those with no current pain or other symptoms of device failure, should contact our lawyers now.
FDA Seeking Information from Metal Hip Replacement Patients
FDA is looking for information from metal-on-metal hip replacement patients.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it is seeking information from patients regarding their metal-on-metal (MoM) hip systems. If you have had an MoM hip implant, contact our law firm, and our DePuy litigation team will compile your information for the FDA. Attorney David Szerlag is lead attorney for our metal hip recall lawsuits.
FDA will discuss the issues surrounding MoM hip systems at a two-day expert advisory panel meeting on June 27-28, 2012.
There are two categories of MoM hip systems:
- Metal-on-metal total hip replacement systems consisting of a metal ball (femoral head), a metal femoral stem in the thighbone, and a metal cup in the hip bone (acetabular component).
- Metal-on-metal hip resurfacing systems consisting of a trimmed femoral head capped with a metal covering and a metal cup in the hip bone (acetabular component).
Hip replacement surgery is intended to provide increased patient mobility and reduce pain by replacing the damaged hip joint in patients where there is evidence of sufficient sound bone to seat and support the components. It is the MoM hip replacement systems that have been the subject of a recall (DePuy recall) numerous lawsuits.
In May 2011, FDA issued an order for manufacturers of MoM hip systems to conduct post-market surveillance studies to collect more safety data on these devices, including data related to metal ion concentrations in the bloodstream. Read about cobalt poisoning and chromium poisoning associated with DePuy ASR hip implants.
The FDA is currently considering whether to make MoM hip systems subject to more rigorous testing and premarket review requirements.
A recent study noting an increased failure rate related to those systems that utilize large-diameter femoral heads has added to the FDA’s existing concerns over the safety of MoM hip systems.
The FDA panel will discuss:
- Failure rates and modes
- Metal ion testing
- Imaging methods
- Local and systemic complications
- Patient risk factors;and
- Considerations for follow-up after surgery.
Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacement Lawsuit: Attorneys Call on FDA to Update Warning
When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fails to protect patients from defective products, lawsuits against manufacturers become even more important.
Yesterday, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the UK equivalent of the FDA, issued updated advice to surgeons that patients with certain metal-on-metal hip replacements (those with 36 millimetres heads or larger) should be monitored annually for the life of the hip replacement. This updates previous advice from April 2010 that patients with this type of hip replacement need only be monitored for a minimum of five years after their operation.
The FDA has lagged behind the MHRA in warning surgeons about metal-on-metal hip replacements. As of today, FDA has not followed MHRA’s lead and recommended annual monitoring for life.
Attorneys Fred Pritzker and David Szerlag are calling on the FDA to recommend annual monitoring for life for patients in the United States who have metal-on-metal hip replacements, including the DePuy ASR hip replacement system. They are also calling on DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, to pay for this care.
To hold the companies accountable, attorneys Fred Pritzker and David Szerlag have filed several lawsuits against DePuy and Johnson & Johnson. They are available for a free consultation regarding your metal-on-metal hip replacement. You should call them at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form.
In the video above, Dr. David Langton of Newcastle University discusses the problems with ASR total hip replacement and other large metal-on-metal hip replacements. The video is from ww.bmj.com.
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.
