Defective Design Sited in Tennessee DePuy Hip Lawsuit

Paul McCurley of Chattanooga, Tennessee, has had his DePuy lawyer file a lawsuit against DePuy Orthopedics, Inc., and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson, Inc., for the injuries he suffered after his DePuy Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implant failed. “You just feel like you are a burden on everyone,” McCurley commented in describing his experience and ultimate need to undergo a second hip replacement surgery to replace the other hip following a DePuy hip failure. McCurley’s complaint asserts that DePuy knew that the Pinnacle all-metal hip generated unusual and dangerous levels of metal debris accumulation in many patients and presented abnormally high risks of early failure. Despite notice of these alleged problems and defects, DePuy continued to promote and sell the Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip, and has not recalled the product.

Sales of the DePuy ASR hip replacement have been suspended in the United States since many doctors have reported a substantially higher need for revisions and further hip surgery. There have also been numerous patient complaints of crippling pain they experienced following their implantation with this defective device. For more than two years there have been reports of the DePuy ASR Hip Implants failing in patients only a few years after implant, requiring costly and painful replacement operations. In addition to a mounting number of DePuy ASR lawsuits filed in recent months over their recalled metal-on-metal hip replacement, DePuy Orthopedics and Johnson & Johnson are now facing lawsuits over their DePuy Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip replacement, which also allegedly has design defects that may make it prone to early failure.

Similar to the ASR hip systems, the DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement system received FDA approval through the expedited 510(k) process, which only requires a manufacturer to show that its medical device is substantially similar to devices already available on the market. Manufacturers are able to bypass rigorous pretrial testing and FDA inspection. The DePuy ASR hip implant recall is a prime example as to why the current 510(k) process is flawed and jeopardizes the safety and welfare of the public. If DePuy had been required to undergo the standard approval process, it is probable that the severe hip replacement complications stemming from the metal-on-metal implants would have been detected and the implants would not have been cleared for patient use.