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.
Metal-on-Metal Hip Pain Leads to Revision Surgery and Legal Action
Contact our attorneys for a free review of your metal-on-metal hip case.
Terri Wagner-Morley told the Star-Tribune that the new hip she had implanted to ease her chronic arthritis pain in 2008 started to cause her pain in 2009 and was later surgically removed, a procedure called revision surgery. He artificial hip was a DePuy metal-on-metal ASR hip, which was recalled in 2010.
Ms. Wagner-Morley is not alone. Her case is just one of thousands involving a metal-on-metal hip implant that failed years before it was supposed to. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. recalled its ASR™ XL Acetabular System, and we expect that other manufacturers of metal-on-metal hip replacement systems will follow.
Problems with the metal-on-metal hip implants reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) include the following:
- loosening of the hip
- inflammation in the tissues around the hip
- dislocation
- cobalt and chromium ions in the bloodstream, resulting in cobalt and chromium poisoning.
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.
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.
