A Comparison of Past Hip Litigation With the Ongoing DePuy Case
After victims numbering in the hundreds found out about the risks that the DePuy hip replacement implants give to patients, they quickly arranged for them to file for DePuy litigation charges in the hopes that the company who have been negligent in its provision of a safe medical device would reimburse them for monetary and non-monetary losses.
An artificial hip recipient can expect his or her implant to last, on average, fifteen years. But current reports tell that an abnormal 5-year failure rate are placed on two hip replacement devices produced by a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson called DePuy Orthopaedics. Pursuant to a data in Great Britain, flaws have been found in the ASR XL Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System requiring the recipients of the implant to go through another hip replacement surgery. Migration, dislocation, bone fractures and toxic metal debris are only a few of the reported problems these ASRs possess.
On account of these problems, the ASR devices have been taken back in August 2010. Lawsuits have been filed from the victims in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States against the DePuy eversince. An estimated 4,000 lawsuits are expected by attorneys what with over 90,000 patients worldwide who have received an ASR.
The lawsuits of the victims of the DePuy hip implant recall would be a resounding success if it were to be based on antecedence from similar cases. One class action lawsuit in particular should provide hope for DePuy ASR victims.
30,000 Inter-Op Acetabular Shell Hip Implant units were taken back by the Sulzer Orthopedics, Inc. in December 2000. During its manufacture, a lubricant has contaminated the units making it impossible for the bone to stick to the implant. This led to excruciating pain and other complications for many recipients, and approximately 3,500 people required a second replacement hip.
In what would emerge as a landmark hip replacement class action settlement, $1 billion was paid by Sulzer to victims. About $206,000 were given to victims who needed to have a second hip replacement done while around $1,000 are paid to each victim who were implanted with faulty units but did not need to undergo another operation.
For now, it is unknown just how much compensation is needed to augment the ASR recall victims’ pain, suffering, and losses and how many lwasuits DePuy would receive in the long run. But if you have been implanted with an ASR device, see to it that you get a medical evaluation from your doctor and make sure you contact an experienced product liability attorney who could give you advice on a potential hip replacement lawsuit. For more information and updates, visit the DePuy hip replacement center.
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