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Hip Recalls
Our Massachusetts defective hip attorneys are committed to assisting clients in dealing with defective implants, including joints and other medical devices. The DePuy ASR hip-replacement/ASR XL Acetabular System is the highest-profile recall involving defective implants.
DePuy Hip Replacement in Massachusetts Systems of Defective Hips
At Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers, we continue to follow the issue of metal implants closely. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is looking into complaints involving other metal hip-replacement systems.- Pain and swelling
- Stiffness
- Fluid retention around the joint
- Dislocation of hip
- Numbness or weakness
- Issues with thyroid or kidney
Source: U.S. Food & Drug Administration
Each year, far too many dangerous, even deadly, medical devices make it to market. Too often, consumers assume the FDA will protect them. Sadly, that is just not the case. The case of the DePuy hip is illustrative: The U.S. government virtually ignored the warnings from a growing number of patients and their physicians until the devices were recalled in Europe. The European recall also warns of metal shavings in soft tissue and possible blood contamination, something U.S. authorities have not made an official part of their warning.
The FDA has also come under fire for allowing politics and political contributions to impact its decision-making process. Too often, clinical trials are conducted overseas, far from the preying eyes of U.S. regulators. Nor does the FDA conduct its own routine testing for approval – instead relying upon the testing of companies that stand to make billions upon a device’s approval.
In early 2011, Johnson & Johnson took a $1 billion charge on its books as a result of the ASR system’s recall. In 2010, the company recalled nearly 100,000 systems. Patients are reporting pain – in many cases worse than what prompted them to have hip replacement surgery – and other medical complications. By some estimates, 1 in 7 patients are reporting problems within the first five years. Ultimately, medical experts believe as many as half of all patients may suffer failure of the artificial joint.
More that 2,600 patients have filed a lawsuit in federal court and an average of 20 new cases are being filed every day. The lawsuit claims DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. and Johnson & Johnson sold the defective product without warning consumers of the risk of failure and of metal poisoning caused by cobalt and chromium shavings.
The FDA has received more than 7,500 complaints. Frequently, patients are requiring additional surgery for revisions, despite the fact that the DePuy ASR system was marketed as a device that would last for 15 years – even in patients with an active lifestyle.
Older patients went through this procedure to regain mobility and quality of life. Instead, they are facing additional surgery, pain, decreased mobility and additional medical bills. Those who believe they are suffering as the result of a defective hip implant or other joint implant should contact a Boston defective medical products law firm to discuss their rights.
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