Trail Begins for Defective Hip Replacement Suit

 Posted on March 08, 2013 in Defective Medical Devices

At the end of January, according to beforeitsnews.com, Johnson & Johnson was facing a slew of claims regarding a hip replacement the company developed “that had several design defects.” The hip replacement, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Orthopedics, is suspected to have leaked toxic debris into patients' bloodstreams. There were also stability issues with the replacement, according to beforeitsnews.com, and “instead of notifying doctors and patients, the company allegedly kept silent.”

The first cases to go to trial will be in California, but there are 10,000 pending suits across the country. The first trial began early this year in Los Angeles, and the gist of the suit “alleges that DuPuy knew about the risks of the product, but deliberately hid them.” If found liable, the company will face billions of dollars in damages. The designers at DuPuy claim that they “evaluated the risk and found it to be a minimum.” Hip recipients and their lawyers rejected an out-of-court settlement of $200,000 offered by Johnson & Johnson.

Hip replacements are relatively common, and, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), “one of the most successful operations in all of medicine.” The most common reason for a hip replacement is the deterioration of the bones due to arthritis, but fractures are also a common reason for the need of a replacement. The first hip replacement surgery was performed in 1960, and today, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and reported by the AAOS, “more than 285,000 total hip replacements are performed each year in the United States.” Most patients who undergo hip replacement surgeries are between ages 50 and 80.

If you or someone you know has been affected by a defective hip replacement, you are likely eligible for compensation. Don't go through it alone. Contact a dedicated Chicago-area defective medical device attorney today.

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