Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacement Lawyer & Lawsuits
Metal-on-metal hip replacements have recently been associated with serious side effects, including a significantly higher rate of failure compared to other hip implants. The metal-on-metal design may also leak toxic chemicals into the body, increasing a person’s risk of cancer and a degenerative heart disease called cardiomyopathy. An estimated 500,000 Americans have metal-on-metal hip implants, but many have no idea that they could be at risk of a severe side effect.
What You Can Do & How We Can Help
The Schmidt Firm, LLP is currently accepting metal on metal-on-metal hip implant lawsuits in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know had a metal-on-metal hip replacement and subsequently suffered a serious side effect, you should contact our firm immediately for a free case consultation. Please click here to contact our Product Liability Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
UPDATE: Experts Calling for Ban of Metal Hip Implants
In March 2012, a study published in the Lancet found that metal-on-metal hip implants were significantly more likely to fail compared to other models of hip implants. Though the use of metal-on-metal hip replacements has declined in Europe in recent years, these potentially dangerous medical devices are still common in the United States. British researchers looked at data from 400,000 people who had a hip replacement, of which 31,000 had a metal-on-metal design.
They found the following rates of failure:
- 6.2% failure rate in metal-on-metal design
- 2.3% failure rate in ceramic-on-ceramic design
- 1.7% failure rate in metal-on-plastic design
The experts concluded that the metal-on-metal design had significantly higher risks, but no additional benefit. They are recommending that health authorities ban this dangerous medical device.
Toxic Substances may leak from Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacements
Since 1975, researchers have known that charged chromium ions are a carcinogen. Many types of metal-on-metal hip replacements are made of chromium-cobalt. When tissue comes in contact with these metals, ions can leak into the bloodstream, traveling to the lymph nodes, surrounding tissues, and organs. This can cause cancer. There is also evidence that cobalt in the bloodstream can cause a degenerative heart disease called cardiomyopathy. People with this condition are at risk of congestive heart failure and death.
An investigative team from the BBC and British Medical Journal discovered the link between metal-on-metal hip replacements and these life-threatening diseases caused by toxic chemicals. They were alarmed that European and U.S. health regulatory agencies had approved the devices with minimal data regarding their safety and effectiveness. Side effects of many implants takes several years to emerge. By the time everyone realized that the metal-on-metal design had more side effects than alternative designs, hundreds of thousands of people had been implanted with the devices.
More Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Information
The New York Times recently reported that metal on metal hip implants can have serious and sometimes lifelong complications. These implants were developed to be more enduring than previous implants but have been found to cause loss of bone, inflammatory reactions, death of surrounding tissue and even the need for early replacement. Some of the complications are believed to be caused by metal pieces being shed into the body. The article reported that the metal on metal implants have been used in about one-third of the approximately 250,000 hip replacements performed each year. Another recent article in the Journal of Arthroplasty urged doctors to use the metal-on-metal implants with “great caution, if at all.”
Several companies manufacture metal on metal hip implants and according to the New York Times article, some experts believe that “in a rush to meet the demand for metal-on-metal devices, [manufacturers] marketed some poorly designed implants.”
Metal on Metal Hip Implant Side Effects
Metal on Metal hip Implants have been linked to the following side effects:
- Failure of the device (breaking, needing early replacement)
- Dislocation of the hip
- Leaking toxic substances into the bloodstream
- Cancer
- Cardiomyopathy (degenerative heart muscle disease)
- Loss of bone
- Inflammatory reactions causing pain
- Early replacement
- Death of surrounding tissue
Do I Have a Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacement Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, LLP is currently accepting metal-on-metal hip replacement lawsuits in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know had a metal-on-metal hip replacement and subsequently suffered a severe side effect, you should contact our firm immediately for a free case consultation. Please click here to contact our Product Liability Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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