The DePuy Orthopedics unit of Johnson & Johnson has recalled the ASR™ Hip System, which was used as a hip implant in hip replacement surgeries after more patients than they anticipated underwent corrective surgery due to pain and other difficulties with the ASR™ Hip System.
Because of that, DePuy faces tens of thousands of state and federal lawsuits over its hip implants. To this day, Johnson & Johnson has spent more than $4 billion in settling claims.
The following products have been affected by the DePuy hip recall:
Patients who had a hip replacement using either of these two products may need to endure more testing and treatment to guarantee their hip is correctly operating. It is possible that in some cases, the patient may need to undergo another artificial hip replacement surgery.
Why Is There A DePuy Hip Replacement Failure?
New data collected by DePuy states that an estimated 1 out of every 8 patients (12% – 13%) who received the ASR resurfacing device, or the ASR total hip replacement, were required to receive a revision surgery five years after they were implanted.
An unknown number of the revision surgeries were caused by the wearing down of metal pieces from the ball-and-socket components .
Patients reacted in different ways – some did not cause problems, but for most patients, the microscopic particles collected fluid in the joint and the muscles around the joint causing damage to the muscles, bones and nerves surrounding the hip. Orthopedic specialists can do tests to find out if this is the source of a patient’s pain.
More recent data suggests that after six years following their initial hip implant surgery, 50% of the people might require a hip revision surgery, which is a huge increase from the above 12% – 13%.
The study also notes that these 12% – 13% do not account for all of the patients who currently feel pain in the implant area but have not yet had a hip revision surgery.
However, their chance of requiring one is very big.
What Are Faulty Hip Implant Symptoms?
Normal hip replacement surgery discomforts like swelling and difficulty walking are a few symptoms experienced by patients who had hip revision surgery.
However, if these symptoms come back after the typical healing time or do not go away at all, this could be an indicator of a problem, such as:
Filing for a DePuy Hip Recall Lawsuit
The people who have suffered because of the faulty ASR hip implants deserve some form of reimbursement for their losses – both financial and physical.
Filing a DePuy hip lawsuit can help you regain what you have lost because of these defective products.
This will get you on the road to recovery.
The complications from the DePuy hip implants potentially immobilize people and strongly interfere with their normal lives. Damages that can be recovered by a hip replacement lawsuit include:
Before these hip implants were released, DePuy publicly claimed that they were safe and effective, and could help patients maintain an active lifestyle.
However, there were many DePuy hip replacement failures that resulted in a lower quality of life.
According to The New York Times, DePuy had initially projected that the ASR devices would fail for about 40% of the patients who used them within 5 years. This was an 8 times higher rate of hip replacement failure compared to other devices. Sadly, this information never became public.
The New York Times also wrote that the FDA rejected the DePuy hip replacement device because studies showed a high failure rate. However, the company managed to sell it overseas, while later marketing a different device in the United States.
Most people who file a DePuy hip implant lawsuit have strong cases because the product’s manufacture clearly failed to design, test, and market a successful product. They also failed to warn the public of the possible risks that come with it.
This is why most DePuy hip recall lawsuits end in damages recovery of medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages and other damages.
Recovering From A Hip Replacement Failure
If you or a loved one has suffered at the hands of the defective ASR hip implants, you might get a reimbursement for your pain and suffering.
The professional product liability lawyers at The Fenstersheib Law Group, P.A. are extremely experienced and aware of the DePuy hip recall cases situation. We will fight for you in a court of law!
Get your questions answered - call us for your FREE consultation at 800-835-5762 & 954-456-2488
