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First J&J Hip Implant Trial Begins in Los Angeles

By Renee Nordstrand on January 31, 2013

black & white scan of faulty hip replacement

Opening arguments have been heard in the first Johnson & Johnson metal-on-metal ASR hip implant case to go to trial. The ASR hips, which were manufactured by J&J’s DePuy unit, were recalled in 2010 when it was found that the devices were failing at higher-than expected rates.

The ASR hip recall attorneys at the Law Office of Renée J. Nordstrand have been following the developments in defective metal-on-metal hips and have found that failures have led to loosening of the hip implant, pain, swelling, joint weakness, tumors, heavy metal poisoning and soft tissue damage around the joint in patients who were implanted with the devices.

According to Reuters, the plaintiff’s attorney claims that J&J knew of the product’s defects in 2004 before it started selling the ASR device — but decided to market it anyway. His 66-year-old client contends that the hip implant made him ill when it released metal ions into his blood, which elevated the levels of cobalt and chromium in his system.

The plaintiff’s attorney claimed that DePuy failed to warn patients and doctors about the defects in the all-metal ASR hip implants. “Doctors relied 100 percent on DePuy and patients relied 100 percent on doctors and information was kept from them,” he told the jury.

A J&J attorney countered that the evidence would show that the man had many health issues before the implant; and regardless of that, the level of metal in his blood was not high enough to make him ill. The attorney stated that DePuy is a “good and conscientious company.”

There are currently over 10,000 lawsuits that have been filed against J&J over its metal-on-metal hip replacements.

If you have been injured as a result of DePuy implant failure, you have the right to hold them liable for losses and damages you suffered as a result of their negligence. To learn more about your legal rights and ongoing litigation, contact The Law Office of Renée J. Nordstrand. Call our Santa Barbara office at (805) 962-2022 or our Encino office at (818) 981-3530. We can also be contacted online. Your consultation will be free and confidential.