February 12, 2015 — A woman who needed surgery to replace two defective DePuy ASR hip implants has been awarded $2.5 million by a jury in Oklahoma.
The woman, Andrea Smith, filed her lawsuit in Tulsa County, Oklahoma against DePuy Orthopedics, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. Smith was implanted with the DePuy ASR XL Acetabular System, which has a metal-on-metal design.
DePuy is facing over 12,000 lawsuits alleging that the metal parts can grind together and release toxic particles of chromium and cobalt into a patient’s body. Lawsuits accuse DePuy of negligence for failing to adequately test the metal-on-metal design or warn doctors about its inherent risks.
The ASR XL was implanted in her right hip in October 2006, and her left hip in February 2007. After she developed metal poisoning in her bloodstream, she underwent revision surgeries in 2011 and 2012 to remove and replace the implant.
According to her attorneys, she developed a number of adverse reactions, including pain, fracture, dislocations, abnormal sounds in the hip, metallosis, pseudo-tumors, and difficulty walking.
The DePuy ASR was recalled in 2010 due to an unacceptably high rate of revision surgery. At the time, DePuy said the five-year revision rate was 12%, but the company’s own internal analysis actually put the figure closer to 40%.
In November 2013, DePuy announced a $2.5 billion settlement, paying about $250,000 per revision surgery to resolve lawsuits filed by 8,000 people who were implanted with the ASR. Additional compensation is available to patients who had systemic reactions, such as stroke or heart attack.
Do I have a DePuy ASR Hip Implant Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting DePuy ASR induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been injured by a defective metal-on-metal hip implant, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Medical Device Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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