Personal Injury Law

New DePuy Hip Implant Lawsuit Filed in Chicago

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

We have frequently updated readers on the latest news related to the DePuy hip implant recall. The impact of the defective product continues to have effects close to home. Several Chicago patients recently filed a lawsuit for their suffering due to the hip device.

According to ABC News, the Chicago DePuy lawsuit includes five patients who are accusing the company of ignoring the clear evidence that the devices being implanted posed too high a risk of failure and complications. Failure to act reasonably led to an unnecessary delay in the recall.

The husband of one of the victim explains of his wife, ?She can?t walk. She can?t do anything. [She?s] in deep pain.?

These victims represent only five out of thousands who suffered because of defective DePuy hip implants. Nearly 100,000 of the implants were recalled by the company in August after evidence mounted even higher showing the extreme danger the product presented to patients. Many of the patients who have suffered complications from the product may have suffered irreparable harm to their bodies. Each time a join is redone some bone is lost.

Perhaps even more frustrating is the lack of clear answers on why the product was even defective in the first place and how the company allowed so many patients to face complications. Also concerning is the fact that there is no standardized tracking system in the United States for joint implants?other countries require such tracking. Those nations have seen the rates for revision surgeries drop by as much as ten percent as the lists allow defective devices to be identified much earlier.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on January 14, 2011 (boomark / email).