Jacob Davenport of North Carolina has
filed a DePuy hip lawsuit against DePuy Orthopaedics and its parent company,
Johnson & Johnson, claiming that his hip implant, the Pinnacle Acetabular
Cup System, leaked metal shavings into his system and caused metal poisoning.
As a result, he was forced to undergo hip revision surgery.
The Pinnacle hip lawsuit stems from the
fact that the Pinnacle's design includes metal-on-metal components which can
rub against each other. The friction can cause metal shavings to rub off and be
leaked into the patient's bloodstream or tissues, resulting in metal poisoning,
which can cause pain, inflammation, a decrease in mobility, malaise, and
confusion. The FDA has required all manufacturers of metal-on-metal implants to
study the implants to assess the
safety issues associated with this type of implant.
According to Davenport's Pinnacle hip
lawsuit, he received the Pinnacle hip implant in July of 2005, but subsequently
suffered extreme pain and was forced to go through hip revision surgery. His
DePuy hip lawsuit blames the company for allegedly concealing the Pinnacle's
defective design, and seeks damages for past, present, and future pain and
suffering, disfigurement, disability, severe and possibly permanent injuries,
lost wages, and loss of future earnings capacity.
Although Davenport is a resident of North
Carolina, he filed his DePuy hip lawsuit in the United States District Court
Northern District of Texas, where the current DePuy Pinnacle MDL
(multi-district litigation)is taking place. Davenport's Pinnacle hip lawsuit is
expected to join the others already proceeding in the MDL.
To date, more than 50 Pinnacle hip
lawsuits have been filed, claiming that the Pinnacle Acetabular Cup System
implant has caused DePuy hip complications ranging from hip pain to component loosening
to metal poisoning.
DePuy previously had trouble with another
of its implants, the DePuy ASR XL Acetabular Cup System, which also caused
serious complications and was the subject of DePuy hip lawsuits. That implant
was recalled in August of 2010. The Pinnacle, however, remains on the market,
at least for now.
