DePuy and Johnson & Johnson are being sued by a 56-year old Virginia nurse over a defective hip replacement device (the DePuy ASR) that the company was forced to recall in August because of mounting evidence of problems with the implant. In October 2008, the woman bringing the suit (the “Plaintiff”), had the DePuy ASR implanted in connection with her total hip replacement surgery. This month , just a little over two years after her initial implant surgery, she is scheduled to undergo a painful and risky revision surgery to remove and replace the defective ASR device.
The firm representing the Plaintiff, Bernstein Liebhard LLP, filed suit in Federal Court against DePuy Orthopedics, Inc., DePuy, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, Inc. (“Defendants”). The complaint alleges that since at least 2006, Defendants knew that the DePuy ASR was failing early and causing harm in a high number of patients. A recent study conducted in the U.K. found that 13% of patients required revision hip replacement surgery within five years after implanting the DePuy ASR, which is more than double the acceptable failure rate for hip replacement devices. Faced with this evidence, DePuy was forced to issue a worldwide recall of the ASR hip implant.
The lawsuit seeks to recover compensatory and punitive damages for personal injuries suffered by Plaintiff as a result of Defendants’ negligent and wrongful conduct in connection with the design, development, testing, assembling, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, preparing, distributing, marketing, supplying and/or selling of the DePuy ASR.
Following Plaintiff’s initial implant surgery, she, like thousands of other victims, began to experience symptoms related to the defective DePuy ASR, including discomfort, clicking, grinding, pain, a feeling of instability in her hip, and high metal ion levels in her blood due to the metal-on-metal design of the DePuy ASR. Her pain continued to worsen considerably and to significantly impair her ability to walk, move and even sleep.
A major cause of concern about the ASR hip implants, as well as other implants, is the methods by which these devices are being tested. Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, the director of the Public Citizen’s Health Research Group was quoted in a recent New York Times article saying “You are basically testing these devices in an uncontrolled way on a large number of people.”
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is actively investigating and litigating cases on behalf of its clients who have had hip implant surgery with the recalled ASR products. Since the recall was first issued in August, Bernstein Liebhard has provided a wealth of consumer information on Consumerinjurylawyers.com. If you or a loved one have had hip replacement surgery with a DePuy ASR product, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and other injuries.
For more information about filing a DePuy Hip Recall lawsuit, contact an attorney at Bernstein Liebhard LLP at (877) 779-1414 or at info@consumerinjurylawyers.com.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
10 East 40th Street
New York, New York 10016
(877)-779-1414
www.consumerinjurylawyers.com
www.bernlieb.com
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. © 2010 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
Contact Information:
Felecia Stern, Esq.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
