blog home santa barbara depuy hip implant attorney

The Lasting Effects of the DePuy Hip Implant Recall

By Renee Nordstrand on November 22, 2011

DePuy recalled a hip replacement system known as the ASR XL Acetabluar System in 2010. Many patients who received this implant have had problems with the implant, which requires replacement or revision surgery. They have suffered pain, lost wages, medical expenses and inconvenience.

The DePuy ASR XL Acetabluar System was marketed in the United States in 2005 and placed in thousands of patients. Since 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received hundreds of claims of problems about this implant. In March 2010 Johnson & Johnson, the parent company of DePuy, admitted that the ASR XL Acetabluar System had a much higher than expected failure rate and in August 2010, recalled the product. As a result of the defect, many patients must have the ASR XL Acetabluar System removed from their body and replaced. Patients may be left with significant long-term health problems as a result of the defective product.

As consumers, we trust and expect that the products we purchase and use are safe and free of any design flaw or manufacturing defect that could cause injury, illness, or death. This is especially the case with medical devices and implant systems. Unfortunately, due to various forms of negligence and oversight, defective and poorly designed products often make their way onto the market, causing consumers to suffer harm.

At the Law Offices of Renee J. Nordstrand, our Santa Barbara defective product attorneys have the legal skills and resources to hold negligent manufacturers legally responsible for consumer injury or wrongful death. If you or someone you care about has experienced DePuy hip implant failure, our lawyers can help you obtain compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages. For a free consultation, call (805) 962-2022.

DePuy ASR Hip Implant Patients Entitled to Immediate Reimbursement for Recall-related Expenses

By Renee Nordstrand on November 15, 2011

The month of August in 2010 brought bad news for patients who had hip replacement surgery and received a DePuy Orthopaedics hip implant system. After receiving new data from the National Joint Registry (NJR) of England and Wales revealing that the five year revision rate for the ASR Hip Resurfacing System is about 12 percent and about 13 percent for the ASR XL Acetabular System, DePuy announced a recall of the defective hip implant systems.

Once DePuy receives confirmation that a patient has received an ASR hip implant, recall-related expenses can be documented and submitted for reimbursement. DePuy will address medical costs directly associated with the recall of the ASR Hip System. These costs relate to recall-related patient out-of-pocket expenses, such as co-pays, deductable expenses, lost wages and travel costs, related to revision surgeries. DePuy will cover expenses for testing and treatment. Although this seems simple enough, it is important for patients to ensure that their rights are protected during the process of obtaining full and just compensation from DePuy.

At the Law Offices of Renee J. Nordstrand, our dedicated Santa Barbara DePuy hip implant failure lawyers are dedicated to obtaining maximum compensation for each patient harmed by DePuy’s negligent hip implant testing and manufacturing. If you have suffered as the result of the DePuy implant in California, contact us today for a free consultation. Call (805) 962-2022.

DePuy Orthopaedics ASR Hip Implant Failure Statistics Prompts Recall

By Renee Nordstrand on November 9, 2011

One of the most common ailments, especially for older adults, is arthritis, and one of the most commonly replaced joints is the hip. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, about 750,000 patients with advanced painful arthritis have a total hip replacement annually in the U.S. These patients trust that the surgery will improve their quality of life and restore mobility. Unfortunately, this is not the case with DePuy ASR hip implants.

DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, introduced the ASR XL Acetabular hip implant system in the U.S. in 2005. It sported an innovative metal-on-metal design, as opposed to the traditional metal ball inserted into a plastic cup of its predecessors. The ASR was constructed, not by developing a whole new product, but by retrofitting a metal alloy cup from the ASR Hip Resurfacing System onto a standard hip implant. DePuy did not conduct clinical trials for the ASR.

In 2010, after the DePuy artificial hip system had already been implanted in about 100,000 Americans, the National Joint Registry (NJR) of England and Wales released data showing a high rate of replacement, or revision, for the ASR. The data revealed a five-year revision rate of an estimated 13 percent for the ASR XL Acetabular System and 12 percent for the ASR Hip Resurfacing System, although the later was not used in the U.S. Additional reports concluded that 21 percent of DePuy ASR hip systems had to be replaced by four years. This jumps to 49 percent by six years. With this information, DePuy recalled the ASR XL artificial hip implants on August 24, 2010.

Hip replacement surgery is not a simple process; it is an invasive operation which requires months of recovery and rehabilitation. If the hip implant fails, the patient’s subjected to a hip revision surgery. Even if the hip implant does not completely fail, it could cause serious complications such as heavy metal poisoning and tumors around the implant. In any case, it is likely that the patient would experience increased pain and discomfort.

At the Law Offices of Renee J. Nordstrand, our dedicated Santa Barbara DePuy hip implant failure lawyers are dedicated to obtaining maximum compensation for each patient harmed by DePuy’s negligent hip implant testing and manufacturing. If you have suffered as the result of the DePuy implant in California, contact us today free consultation. Call (805) 962-2022.