Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Is Defective and Caused Him to Suffer Serious Injuries
Pennsylvania man claims the DePuy hip implant is defective. A Pennsylvania man claims the DePuy Orthopaedics Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implant is defective and caused him to suffer serious injuries.
This is just one of many DePuy Pinnacle recipients to file a lawsuit against DePuy and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson. Allegations include that the companies were aware of the dangers of the Pinnacle hip implant, including the likelihood that it would shed dangerous amounts of metallic ions into a recipient’s body and that the device put them at risk of serious health complications.
The Plaintiff was forced to have his DePuy Pinnacle hip implant removed in a painful and costly revision surgery
The Plaintiff was forced to have his DePuy Pinnacle hip implant removed in a painful and costly revision surgery after suffering a series of complications common among recipients of a defective metal-on-metal hip implant. A lawsuit was filed on his behalf in federal court in Philadelphia.
The lawsuit claims that DePuy and Johnson & Johnson had ample opportunities to warn about the risks associated with its Pinnacle hip implant but failed to do so, putting thousands of potential recipients of the device at serious risk of injury, according to The Pennsylvania Record.
The lawsuit further alleges that his injuries were “easily” preventable. The lawsuit also states that DePuy and Johnson & Johnson have a track record of failing to warn about the risks associated with potentially dangerous medical devices they produce, citing the debacle surrounding the recall and failures of the DePuy ASR XL Total Hip System and ASR Hip Resurfacing System.
The Plaintiff claims he suffered all the complications that are common among recipients of a defective metal-on-metal hip implant
The Plaintiff claims he suffered all the complications that are common among recipients of a defective metal-on-metal hip implant, including severe pain and inflammation at the site of the implant. Mostly though, the lawsuit notes the elevated metallic ion levels detected in the bloodstream that are allegedly caused by the DePuy Pinnacle hip implant, according to The Pennsylvania Record.
This is believed to be the result of the metal components of the Pinnacle implant rubbing together during normal wear and shedding toxic metallic particles into Hart’s bloodstream, causing organ and tissue damage.
These conditions led the Plaintiff, and others, back to their surgeons long before they had been told would be necessary. Many recipients of a defective metal-on-metal hip implant suffer complications within the first five years of wearing the device; the devices are touted to last about 15 years.
After receiving a new implant during revision surgery, there is no guarantee that a recipient will regain full mobility. In fact, the lawsuit claims that he’ll eventually be confined to a wheelchair because of the damage caused by the DePuy Pinnacle hip implant and that there is insufficient remaining bone for him to undergo a needed third surgery, The Pennsylvania Record noted.