Johnson & Johnson Recalls DePuy Orthopedics' Hip Implants  

UPDATE - April 2011 - 

Hundreds of individual DePuy ASR hip recall lawsuit filings in federal courts throughout the United States have been consolidated as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio under Judge David A. Katz.

A federal judge has ordered all parties involved in the DePuy ASR recall litigation to preserve any of the removed hip replacements so that they may be used as evidence in the lawsuits. 

The evidence preservation order was handed down on April 6, 2011 by U.S. District Judge David A. Katz, who is overseeing the growing number of DePuy ASR hip replacement lawsuits that have been centralized and consolidated as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Judge Katz ordered that all removed DePuy ASR hip replacements must be preserved and examined in a way that does no additional damage to the evidence.

This metal-on-metal hip replacement system was found to have a higher-than-expected failure rate, often resulting in revision surgery to remove the DePuy ASR hip.  More than 90,000 DePuy ASR XL Acetabular Systems and DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing Systems were sold before the hip replacements were recalled. The manufacturers have acknowledged that data so far has shown that about 12% to 13% of these hips will fail within five years. However, as individuals with one of the recalled hip replacements continue to be monitored by their doctors, it is expected that the rate of DePuy ASR hip replacement problems will ultimately be much higher. More recent estimates have suggested that half of the people who received a the recalled hip may experiencing loosening within six years, with may requiring their DePuy ASR hip be removed.

On August 26, 2010 Johnson & Johnson announced that it was recalling two kinds of hip implants made by DePuy Orthopedics (a unit of Johnson & Johnson).

A panel of federal judges will decide whether all lawsuits over recalled DePuy ASR hip replacements should be centralized and consolidated during pretrial litigation in one courts. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has scheduled oral arguments on a motion to centralize all federal DePuy ASR recall lawsuits for November 18 in Durham, North Carolina.

Parts included in the recall include the DePuy ASR XL Acetabular System and the DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System.  Patients who were affected by these problem parts suffered from a variety of symptoms, including:

• pain

• swelling

• problems walking

Because many patients required a second hip replacement after the first one failed, DePuy said it decided to withdraw the products. 

Patients who reported problems in the first five years and had revision surgery reported a variety of symptoms, including pain, swelling and problems walking. Other symptoms that may indicate a serious problem with the hip replacement parts include: 

• Loosening – when the implant does not stay attached to the bone in the correct position

• Fracture – where the bone around td the implant may have broken

• Dislocation – where the two parts of the implant that move against each other are no longer aligned

• Metal debris – where metal participles from the component parts moving together spread around the hip area. 

Recently there have been findings that metal on metal hip replacement devices have a tendency to break down far before their expected life span and can spread metallic debris through the body.

Throughout the United States over 82,000 hip replacements are done annually using metal on metal hip replacement devices, of these there may be a 5% failure rate of the devices, which can affect over 4,000 hip replacement patients per year.Recently there have been findings that metal on metal hip replacement devices have a tendency to break down far before their expected life span and can spread metallic debris through the body. Throughout the United States over 82,000 hip replacements are done annually using metal on metal hip replacement devices, of these there may be a 5% failure rate of the devices, which can affect over 4,000 hip replacement patients per year.

FDA Critical of DePuy's Practices 

In addition to DePuy's recall, the FDA was critical of the company stating that it had illegally marketed an unapproved knee device and sold a hip implant for unapproved use. 

Hip Recall Lawsuits: Contact a Hip Recall Attorney / Lawyer Today.

Many hip replacement recipients have been forced to have a second hip replacement surgery or suffer from associated issues from the defective hip replacement.  This is especially disturbing as many hip replacement recipients are older and the recovery from hip replacement surgery is challenging.  

Being forced into a second hip replacement surgery is compounded by the thoughts of lost income or job, or forced medical leave, not to mention the pain and suffering associated with the procedure.

There are a growing number of hip replacement lawsuits that have been filed in federal district courts throughout the United States following a DePuy recall issued in August for approximately 93,000 ASR Hip Resurfacing Systems and ASR XL Acetabular Systems. All of the complaints involve similar allegations that problems with the DePuy ASR hip implants caused plaintiffs to face an increased risk that their hip replacement may fail, often resulting in the need for painful and risky hip revision surgery.

If you have received a DePuy hip replacement device, I am interested in reviewing your legal options with you for free, contact my office today . 

PLOUFF LAW OFFICES, P.C.
1-800-913-1708.