Indiana Lawsuits for the DePuy ASR Hip Implant May Be Centralized

On November 18, 2010, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will meet in Durham North Carolina to decide if all states’, including Indiana, DePuy ASR Hip Implant lawsuits should be heard in one court.  This outcome is the result of the high number of lawsuits that are being brought against the company, estimated at 4000 to date and thousands more expected because consumers who have this hip implant are still learning about the risks.

The DePuy ASR Hip Implant was recalled by the FDA following a report by the National Joint Registry of England and Wales which demonstrated that 1 out of every 8 patients who received the DePuy ASR Hip Implant had undergone revision surgery within a five year time period after the initial placement of the implant. Typically, a hip implant should be long lasting, at least 15 years.  Revision hip surgery is real surgery that is very invasive, requires a significant recover time period and is associated with risks. There has also been an additional warning about metal on metal hip implants, such as the DePuy ASR Hip Implant, which can cast metal particles into the body, causing soft tissue damage and inflammatory responses that may lead to bone loss.

People who have filed lawsuits are those who have undergone revision hip surgery or are concerned about the increased risks associated with the hip implant. Approximately, 93,000 DePuy ASR Hip Implants were distributed throughout the U.S.

The basis for the lawsuits is that DePuy, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, did not sufficiently test the hip implant and failed to warn the public or issue a recall in a timely fashion.   It is suspected that the DePuy ASR hip implant has a defect in the design of the acetabular cup, which is shallower than acetabular cups made by other medical device companies, making it more likely to fail. .

Burton Padove, Indiana and Illinois lawyer, is available to help those who are injured because of defective medical devices.  He can be reached at (877) 446 5294.