The DePuy Pinnacle hip implant is back on trial in a Texas federal court. Five plaintiffs who received the metal-on-metal hip implant are having their cases presented in one proceeding against manufacturer DePuy, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
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The trial began on January 8, 2016, when Judge Ed Kinkeade issued an order consolidating the five cases for trial. Eight witnesses have been called by the plaintiffs to date.
Thousands of people across the country anticipate the outcome of the litigation that will affect injury claims by recipients of the metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip implant. The jury hearing these five cases, and DePuy’s defenses, will be a critical voice in determining whether DePuy creates a settlement program to respond to these claims.
In 2013, DePuy began settling claims of individuals injured by its ASR metal-on-metal hip implants after a 2011 recall of the device. The attorneys at Egerton Law have represented dozens of people hurt by this dangerous device.
The similar Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implant has never been recalled, although it is no longer on the market.
Interestingly, articles in the UK’s Daily Telegraph published on January 24th and 25th, right in the middle of this trial, point to evidence that DePuy was aware of problems with the devices dating back to 2008. In one report, the newspaper states that DePuy “has admitted ‘an error in the measuring techniques’” used to make its Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip replacement devices that could lead to higher wear of the metal alloy used to manufacture the device. Additionally, DePuy is said to have reduced quality control measures by spending less time inspecting implants beginning in 2006.
Metal-on-metal hip implants have had higher revision rates than other hip replacement devices due to high failure rates. Recipients of metal-on-metal hips are advised to regularly have their blood tested for metal ions that can be deposited in the bloodstream, and a revision surgery is recommended if metal levels are beyond a certain threshold.
There will be several more days of testimony in the Texas court before the jury is charged with reaching a verdict. Check back in with Egerton Law for updates as the trial moves forward.
An attorney with Egerton Law in Greensboro, North Carolina, Ms. Beeson focuses mainly on product liability law. Working within the field itself for several years has given Emily valuable, firsthand knowledge that makes her quite adept at navigating this intricate area of practice.
3 Comments
Stu Singer
When will criminal charges be brought to bear on the executives of J&J and it's subsidiaries?
RICHARD HEIVILIN
I had my right acetabular component revised after having bilateral hip replacement in 1998/99. The left side is still in for almost 18 years and it still functions. In 2007 my poly liner broke in half and needed replacing so the surgeon put a pinnacle acetabular component in. Over a year I began noticing clicking sounds eventually it would pop out up to 20 times a day and I would have to pop it back in manually. At first I noticed a feeling as though I was walking in a bouncy surface and it then got so bad it started to evolve into a entire body spasming. One morning I was walking to the end of my driveway and the body spasming was so bad it actually sprung me into the road where I laid for an hour until someone came by and helped me up. The spasming got so bad that I could be holding a glass and it would go flying out of my,hand. I began to notice a strong metal taste in my mouth and no food tasted good any longer. Then my ears began to ring so bad I went to have my hearing tested. My vision began to fluctuate from day to day and the pain was so substantial that I had to go to a pain management clinic which barely touches the pain and climbing stairs is almost an impossibility. Since our full baths are upstairs I have been forced to live in my living room sleeping in a recliner and bathing in a half bath which reaching to do the simplest thing such as washing my right foot or putting on a shoe results in the hip subluxing. After many hours in revision surgery for the right acetabular component and using different alternative lights to remove the tiny metal cobalt and chromium shards from my flesh and having toxic levels of same in my blood, after coming home for about a month it dislocated after bending over to pick something up resulting in an E.R. visit to put it back in and as a result of cobalt and chromium in my blood a previously diagnosed blood clot formed at my right hip and went to an undetermined area of my chest.There is no history of blood clots in my family history and my health and weight were comparatively good. They called it "lupus anticoagulant syndrome " which makes no sense since it is neither lupus or anti coagulation in any manner.Well the E.R. doctor disregarded all medical history and after popping it back in it began to bleed into the surgical site resulting in a transfer to another hospital for over a week. Even though the revision is a few years ago I still have significant spasming and tinnitus, as well as my vision still fluctuating and no food tastes good to this day.The day to day pain is unbearable and in order for me to go any distance I need to use a walker or my body will just give out and I will collapse. I turned 60 in September 2015 and was always a healthy person until I came across this DEPUY PINNACLE acetabular component and it has ruined my life. I have a lawsuit filed in the MDL in Texas but haven't heard anything from my attorney in a year or so. I know there are many people who are suffering with as many,varied and suspicious medical conditions from this product that was NEVER clinically trialed and fast tracked through the F.D.A. allowing a complicity between the Federal government and J&J. We are in fact DEPUY's labrats for a dangerous and criminal experiment forced to suffer without any medical protocols to treat this type of poisoning. Where is our justice? Why did the government allow J&J to get away with this? And are they just playing a waiting game hoping we will die off from one of the many complications caused by their negligence? May God save their heartless souls.
John Gides
My wife's replacement lasted about 2 years. Then a revision was done. That lasted a short time. Because of the poisoning from the chromium and cobalt, it destroyed the tissue/ muscle and there was nothing to hold the hip in place. She had another surgery performed. February 28, 2015 she died from an unknown lung issue. The lungs stiffened up until she could no longer breathe. No one will ever convince me that the poisoning in her system from the chromium and cobalt did not kill her. All of that poison circulating through her heart, liver, lungs, and all other vital organs could not be good for the body. They killed my wife and will get away with it!
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