Elder Law

Defective Implant May Affect Illinois Seniors With Hip Replacements

By Levin & Perconti

A new lawsuit has recently been filed in Illinois courts alleging that several patients, several of whom were Illinois senior citizens, have suffered problems following defective metal-on-metal hip implants made by DePuy Orthopaedics.

Aboutlawsuits.com is reporting that thirteen former hip replacement patients have alleged that implants made by the company were defectively designed, ultimately causing them harm and requiring replacement. T he challenged devices include the ASR Acetabular System implants and DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System implants.

While this latest lawsuit involves over a dozen patients, many more Chicago-area seniors could have suffered because of the defective product. Over 93,000 of these implants were recalled by the company after it was discovered that one out of eight recipients of the medical devices experience problems within five years of the surgical implant. Many of those victims eventually require a risky hip revision procedure to completely replace the defective DePuy product.

Advocates for patients? rights have explained that the company failed to appropriately test the metal-on-metal implants. They further suggest that even after realizing the problem the company delayed in calling for the full recall. Early on in the product?s development there were concerns about the part of the device known as the acetabular cup. The cup on the DePuy device was much shallower than on cups made by other orthopedic companies, increasing the risks for those receiving the implant.

In fact, the metal-on-metal his replacement system has been questioned repeatedly over the last five years. Advocates explain that the product can shed metal materials into the body which poses severe risk to soft tissues. The metal particles also pose risk of instigating inflammatory reactions and causing bone loss.

Our Chicago nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti believe that no senior should suffer at the hands of dangerous medical care in any form?whether at the hospital or the nursing home. Hip replacements have always been a common procedure for nursing home residents as their joints begin suffering complications with age. Because of that, it is important for all Chicago area seniors who may have been affected by these defects to contact an elder care lawyer as soon as possible.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on October 11, 2010 (boomark / email).