Articles Tagged with Boston DePuy hip injury lawyer

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

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

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

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

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

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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There are a variety of different methods orthopedic surgeons can use to perform a total hip replacement surgery.  Doctors can use 3D mapping techniques, surgical assistance robots, or they can also use more traditional methods, such as using a cutting guide and placing the artificial hip implant in by hand.

One of the questions often asked is whether it matters what surgical approach a doctor uses. This is the focus of a recent news article from Inspire Heath. The orthopedic surgeon who authored this article said he deals with prospective hip replacement patients on a daily basis. This should come as no surprise with hundreds of thousands of procedures being performed each year. Continue reading

Total knee replacement operations are the most popular elective surgical procedure in the U.S.  There are over 600,000  performed each year. While this is an incredible number, the next most popular elective surgical procedure is the total hip replacement.  These involve more than 300,000 operations annually. That figure is expected to grow in the years to come at a high rate.

One of the reasons we are seeing more operations is because younger patients are more willing to have a total joint replacement because they are tired of chronic pain and the surgery. More importantly, the recovery time is much better and easier to deal with than it was in years past.

A major reason for that is because of advances in technology.  Continue reading

While the WWE tried to hide this fact to an extent back when it was the WWF, these days, the vast majority of wrestling fans and the general public now know that wrestling is staged and the winners are predetermined. This is why it is classified as sports entertainment and not a true sporting event.

However, while the moves are designed in such as way so as not inflict actual pain, it is still very much possible to get injured while participating in a pro wrestling match.  Even if a wrestler does not suffer and acute injury, years in the ring can take its toll on the wrestler, and bone spurs and arthritis can cause a lot of pain and suffering. Continue reading