DePuy Hip MDL Receives a New Lawsuit

In early 2007, Diane Baker received a DePuy ASR hip transplant in her right hip, two months later, and the procedure was repeated in her left hip. Since then, she has undergone severe pain in both legs. On December 27, 2011, the case was transferred to the current DePuy hip recall multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the Northern District of Ohio on December 27, 2011. In 2010, a DePuy ASR hip recall was issued for approximately 93,000 defective implants after data confirmed that the device has an unreasonably high rate of hip failure, often requiring individuals to undergo a second surgery to revise the original hip replacement.

All of the lawsuits involve similar allegations of design defects involving the acetabular cup, which plaintiffs claim has a tendency to loosen and fail as metal particles are shed into the body from the metal parts rubbing against each other. Despite the belief that the metal hip designs would last longer, a number of implant registries worldwide have found that metal-on-metal hip replacement systems like the DePuy ASR hip, are failing years before they should. Health officials recommend patients with metal-on-metal hip implants that are causing them pain be tested for metal ions in the blood, but the FDA has yet to make similar recommendations.

On August 26, 2010, DePuy Orthopedics, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, issued a voluntary recall of its ASR XL Acetabular System and ASR Hip Resurfacing System. In doing so, it admitted that it had manufactured and sold hip replacement units that fail at a rate much higher than industry standards, requiring many recipients to require a revision surgery to remove and replace the defective, dangerous units. Diane Baker has stated that she intends to have revision surgery if her doctor recommends it. Since the recall, many of the nation’s leading orthopedic surgeons have reduced or stopped use of these devices because of the concerns raised of the growing number of lawsuits. In addition to their breakdown there have been reports showing an increase levels of metal in blood and body tissues when the metal components of the implant wear, causing microscopic shards of cobalt and chromium to make their way into the bloodstream.