Personal Injury Law

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Following DePuy Hip Implant Recall

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

The stories continue to roll in alleging severe complications, flaws, and information problems related to hip implants made by DePuy Orthopaedics. This latest lawsuit reported in AboutLawsuits.com alleges that the company, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, lied to patients when making claims that it would reimburse them if they experienced problems following the implant.

The claims stem from the implant maker?s recall of DePuy ASR XL Acetabular Systems. This particular metal-on-metal implant was found to fail in at least 13% of patients, causing complications and risky surgery to fix the problem. The problems affected nearly 100,000 implants.

Specifically, the new lawsuit involves claims made by the company to patients indicating that DePuy would reimburse patients for out-of-pocket medical expenses if they signed a release proving the company with access to their medical record. In truth, the company is only committing to reimbursing patients in cases when DePuy officials themselves unilaterally chose to. Essentially this means that many patients are signing away important legal rights. The deception is making it difficult for victims of the implant problems from receiving important compensation to help cover their costs.

In recent weeks our product recall lawyers at Levin & Perconti have repeatedly urged all those who may have been affected by these hip recall problems to contact professional legal help. As this latest development makes clear, literally thousands and thousands of patients may have suffered (and continue to suffer) because of faulty design, inadequate information, and misleading data about these DePuy hip implants. It is vitally important to contact professional legal help before signing any documents that may affect your legal rights.

Do not allow this potential medical complication to go unchecked. If you or a loved one has gotten a hip replacement recently, contact a medical professional to determine if it falls within this latest recall. Also, be sure to speak with a product recall attorney to ensure the legal matters are handled fairly and accurately.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on October 23, 2010 (boomark / email).