Michigan Injury Lawyers represents clients who suffered harm as a result of dangerous and defective DePuy metal-on-metal hip implants. These products were rushed to the market without proper testing under a special FDA program called 501(K) clearance, and evidence indicates that DePuy may have known several years before the recall about the issues that ASR (articular surface replacement) hip replacement and resurfacing systems could cause. The company needs to pay for what it has done and Michigan Injury Lawyers will help victims to recover full and fair compensation.
DePuy metal-on-metal hip replacement products were one of the best-selling joint replacement systems worldwide, until the company issued a voluntary recall of two ASR hip replacement products in 2010. By the time of the recall, many thousands of patients had already suffered serious complications, and many patients continue to develop problems to this day. Michigan Injury Lawyers is here for those patients and their family members. Call today to get your case started.
DePuy Hip Replacement Systems Cause Complications
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) usually requires rigorous testing of medical devices, but there are exceptions when a device is substantially similar to others on the market. A medical device similar to an approved product can get approved quickly and easily under 501(K) rules. DePuy Orthopaedics and other metal-on-metal hip manufacturers used this loophole to bring products to the market that turned out to be both unsafe and unsatisfactory.
After DePuy's ASR hip replacement joints were released, patients began to experience problems almost immediately. In April 2010, regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom issued a warning about the DePuy ASR systems, while both Health Canada and the regulatory agency in Australia issued formal warnings in May and September of 2012 respectively. The FDA also received myriad complaints from individuals who had the DePuy hip systems implanted and who allegedly experienced:
- Failure of the implant
- Significant pain
- Metal toxicity/metallosis (elevated levels of metal in the blood as the impact breaks down)
- The formation of pseudo-tumors from metal flakes coming off the replacement joint
- Death of body tissue, soft tissue and cells near where the DePuy ASR hip implants were inserted
The British Medical Journal reported that DePuy's unpublished internal analysis showed problems by 2007, but the company chose to wait until August 2010 to act. DePuy was finally prompted to recall its ASR hip implant systems only because the National Joint Registry of England and Wales showed that the devices were failing faster than competitors' implants.
DePuy Should be Responsible for Losses
Companies have a responsibility to the public to take swift action if a product defect is discovered. In fact, a company's responsibility goes beyond this. All companies are expected to do everything possible to ensure their product is safe. This is why "strict liability" laws specify that a manufacturer is liable for injuries caused by product defects that occur when the product is used as intended. A plaintiff doesn't have to show the manufacturer was negligent under strict liability rules; it is sufficient to prove that the product was the direct cause of injury.
DePuy, however, allegedly not only failed to design a safe product but also failed to warn patients of the serious risks. The company should be held responsible for all resulting losses, and has already agreed to settle claims with as many as 8,000 patients who will have funds distributed from a $2.5 billion settlement fund established by DePuy.
Many more cases are still pending, and more patients will likely experience complications and decide to take action. An experienced DePuy hip implant lawyer at Michigan Injury Lawyers can help injured patients take action.
Contact a DePuy Hip Replacement Attorney
Any company that fails to make sure its product is safe should be responsible for covering medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other losses that occur because of the product's shortcomings.
At Michigan Injury Lawyers, we aren't afraid to stand up to big medical device companies in court or to persuasively argue at the negotiation table. Contact us today to learn more.