DePuy Hip Complications Reach Beyond United States

Mirroring similar proceedings taking place in the United States, several recipients of the DePuy hip implant are filing suit in Canada against the corporation. Like in the United States, the lawsuits are being consolidated into a class action case that will streamline the legal process and help plaintiffs through litigation. Of the 90,000 DePuy hip replacement systems sold across the globe, around 37,000 were implanted in the United States, with between 1,500 and 4,000 of these devices being used in Canada.



DePuy recalled the product after it was found that the implant failed in over 12 percent of cases, leaving patients with complications such as metal poisoning, loosening of the implant, and hip implant dislocation. The DePuy hip lawsuits claim that company was aware of the potential for complications with their product, but refused to pull the device from the market until many people had been affected – with thousands of patients being forced to undergo revision surgery, a second surgery that is more risky and painful than the first that is intended to remove and replace the faulty hip implant.

Although the method of consolidating the lawsuits is slightly different in America and Canada – Canada’s lawsuits are being consolidated into a class action lawsuit, while the lawsuits in the United States are combined by multidistrict litigation, which is a similar process – the claims of the lawsuits and the concerns of patients are largely the same. All are seeking compensation for health concerns, pain and suffering, medical bills, and lost wages due to the faultiness of the implant they received, and many are claiming that DePuy did not live up to their responsibility to ensure that their product was tested and confirmed to be safe for use by patients with no serious complications. DePuy hip litigation is also taking place in the United Kingdom, where 10,000 people were fitted with the device.