DePuy Hip

March 19, 2018

Appeals Court Weighs in on Hybrid Medical Device Lawsuit

When it comes to medical device litigation, such as those involving defective hip replacement or knee replacement hardware, many of these devices are subject to the Medical Device Amendments of 1976. New medical devices are given a class designation – Class I, II or III – to indicate degree of risk, with Class III medical devices posing the greatest risk. A device that is designated as a Class III under the MDA is given express preemption from state requirements (which can be different or more stringent than federal rules), as noted in the 2008 U.S. Supreme Court case of Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc. In effect, this means such product liability lawsuits must be pursued in federal court.

But what happens if the medical device consists of components that have different class designations? These are becoming increasingly common in everything from hip implant devices to pain dispensing pumps. It’s created a jurisdictional conflict, with plaintiffs and defendants arguing over which courts should handle these matters.

Now, it appears we have some direction. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently issued a precedential ruling in a case of first impression filed by a plaintiff who alleged a British medical device maker negligently designed a hip replacement system. The ruling is the first time a court has taken on the question of whether product liability claims concerning a device made of components in different classifications are preempted by federal law. Answer: They are. That meant plaintiff’s claims of negligence, strict liability and breach of warranty were expressly preempted and dismissed. However, the court reversed dismissal of plaintiff’s other claims that were adequately pleaded and not preempted, namely off-label promotion in violation of federal law and loss of consortium (filed by his wife). Those claims will proceed. Continue reading

January 6, 2018

New Hip Repair Method May Reduce Need for Riskier Total Hip Implants

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Defective artificial hip implants are a major problem in the U.S. and the issue is only becoming more exacerbated as million more Americans are seeking artificial hip surgery. It has become one of the top surgical procedures in the U.S. with hundreds of thousands of artificial hips implanted each year. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in one recent year alone there were 310,000 artificial hips implanted. This number is expected to rise in years to come with more younger patients choosing to undergo the procedure so they can attempt to lead a more active life.

While none of these artificial hips will last forever, some are failing far sooner than promised, in some cases with serious or dangerous side effects. We have seen far too many cases where medical device manufacturers are rushing a product to market to make money when they knew or should have known the device was faulty. This is the reason for so many defective artificial hip implant lawsuits in Boston and across the nation each year. Continue reading

December 22, 2017

Biomet Magnum Metal on Metal Hip Implant Lawsuits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Despite the numerous claims of great benefits from medical device manufacturers (including DePuy, now a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson), it has become quite clear the metal-on-metal hip implant does not work as advertised. These metal on metal hip implants were designed to be smoother than implants made of traditional materials, but in reality, there were various problems with these implants that resulted in tremendous amounts of pain and suffering and eventually a total device failure in some cases.

The DePuy Pinnacle or DePuy ASR hip implant has been the focus of many lawsuits as it controlled a lot of the hip implant market share, but it was not the only metal on metal hip on the market. Continue reading

November 30, 2017

DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant Plaintiffs Awarded $247 Million by Jury

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A number of medical device manufacturers have produced defective hip implants, but one of the most troubling is a company called DePuy, which produced the DePuy Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip. The product has been plagued with problems almost since the outset.

DePuy is a major manufacturer of durable medical equipment, including artificial joints such as hips and knees. The company has since been acquired by Johnson & Johnson and became the DePuy Orthopedics Division of Johnson & Johnson. It was this successor company that was named a defendant in a product liability lawsuit that recently resulted in a $147 million jury verdict in a defective hip implant lawsuit according recent news article from Reuters.

Six Plaintiffs Collectively Awarded $147 Million Verdict in DePuy Hip Injury Case

This most recent DePuy lawsuit was heard in the U.S. District Court in Dallas Texas, with relief sought by six plaintiffs who suffered serious injuries as a result of their use of the defective Pinnacle hip.

This was the third jury verdict against this defendant in connection with injuries cased by the DePuy Pinnacle hip implant device. This is one of an estimated 9,700 cases pending against Johnson & Johnson for the Depuy defective hips. Although the company won the first bellwether trial, it has subsequently continued to lose, with many juries concluding the company liable. A spokeswoman has promised long-term commitment to vigorous defense of these cases, but if verdicts like this continue, it’s likely we’ll see an uptick in settlements.

This type of complex litigation requires an experienced legal team with extensive resources. Continue reading

November 7, 2017

Big Business Leads to Defective Hip Injury Cases in Boston

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Elective hip replacement surgery has grow in popularity to where it has become has become one of the most common surgeries in the U.S. with hundreds of thousands of operations performed year. This is partially because younger patients are getting artificial hip implants and because of the massive marketing push by the medical device manufacturing firms. The problem occurs when companies rush dangerous defective artificial hips onto the market without taking the time to do proper and required safety testing.

According to a recent news article from MedGadget, a new sales index and forecasting system is evaluating the global hip replacement market and has estimated that sales are to reach $5 billion a year by 2021. These companies are making a lot of money and they are trying to show “healthy” growth from quarter to quarter. While this is done in the name of efficiency to make shareholders happy, it also leads to corners being cut at the expenses of patients who have no idea they are about to receive a defective hip implant that can cause tremendous pain and suffering, lost time at work during the surgery and recovery, and many other types of legal damages. Continue reading

October 25, 2017

Serious Safety Testing Violations Found with DePuy Pinnacle Hip

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A British federal agency has discovered serious safety testing flaws on metal hip implants, sparking concern the devices were defective and dangerous as sold.

Most artificial hip joints are made from metal, plastic, and cements or a combination of these materials. The DePuy Pinnacle and DePuy Pinnacle ASR hips were not designed like ordinary artificial hip implants. These hips were designed with an all metal construction. This means that both the ball and socket were made entirely of metal. The idea, as suggested by the company’s marketing department is that a metal-on-metal hip joint would be smoother than a traditionally-designed implant. This in turn would allow younger hip replacement patients to lead a more active life as the joint would act like the patient’s uninjured natural joint.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned by the company. Like most metal surfaces, when it is subject to extreme amounts of force and rubbed against other metal surfaces, it creates friction and this leads to integral breakdown. There are many consequences to a hip joint breaking down prematurely. Continue reading

October 8, 2017

Hip Replacement Market Booms Despite Boston Injury Cases

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Defective hip implants are a major and ongoing problem throughout the U.S., yet the demand for the procedure is at an all-time high.

A recent analysis of the of the state of the hip replacement market though 2024 by Persistence Market Research looks at trends in the industry based up statistical research and predicts the state of the market in several years to come. A total hip replacement is the most common elective surgical procedure in the United States with over 600,000 artificial hips implanted in patients in any given year.

When we look to the global numbers, as discussed in this marketing study, we see these numbers are just as high in many other places in the world and the world market for hip implants is expected to increase at 4.7 percent, and when break down the numbers, this is a massive increase. Continue reading

September 20, 2017

Litigation for Defective Metal-on-Metal Hip Implants

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There are many types of artificial hip implants on the market. Many involve the use of a cement, composite, metal, or some combination of both. One devices that proved particular troublesome due to design defects and failure to warn doctors and patients of known dangers was the Pinnacle ASR metal on metal hip implant manufactured by a company called DePuy.

The metal on metal hip used both a metal ball and socket in the artificial joint. The theory, according to company marketing material, is that metal on metal would be smother and have less friction than other designs. This would mean that a patient could theoretically lead a much more active lifestyle since the hip joint would move more freely. Continue reading

September 11, 2017

New Hip Implant Technology and Boston Products Liability Issues

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

One of the major manufactures of artificial hip implants is a company that was simply known as DePuy for many years. Now the company has merged to become DePuy Synthes, and is also now a wholly owned subsidy of the Johnson & Johnson company ,which has become one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical and medical device manufactures. While many associate the company with making Band Aids and other consumer health care products, and they certainly do make those things, that is really only a very small part of the company’s business.

Artificial hip implant devices are big business. The companies that make them can charge a lot for the device and with more than 300,000 people getting hip implants in year in the U.S. alone, a figure that is still growing, there is no shortage of patients to purchase them. There is a lot of competition from other medical device giants such as the Stryker Corporation.

July 29, 2017

Metal-On-Metal Hip Replacement Injury in Boston

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There are a lot of different models of artificial hips on the market today, and there are many companies making these artificial hip implants. This is because there a lot of artificial hips being implanted, and they cost a lot of money. In fact, when a hospital buys the device, they pay between $4,500 and $7,500 per artificial hip joint, according to a policy think tank called the Advisory Board.

It is hard to know what it costs a patient with the hospitals routinely marking durable medical equipment (DME) way up, so the insurance company can than adjust them way down. Still, we are talking about thousands of dollars per device. As we have discussed in other posts on our Boston products liability blog, there are over 300,000 total hip replacement surgeries performed each year in the U.S. alone. This has resulted in something of a market free-for-all, with other companies trying to get a cut of the action.
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