Parker McDonald: One Year Milestone of DePuy ASR Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant System Recall Approaching

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DePuy, Hip Replacement, James E. Kinkeade, New York TImes, Texas, UNited States, United States District Court, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas

Parker McDonald P.C., a Texas law firm, is now one year into its work representing plaintiffs seeking remedies for medical issues arising from the failure of metal-on-metal hip implant devices, many of those issues coming to light after an August 2010 recall of DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc.’s ASR XL Acetabular Hip Replacement System.

Fort Worth, TX (PRWEB) August 12, 2011 Source: PRWeb – click here

Dan McDonald and Brad Parker

Parker McDonald P.C., a Texas law firm, is now one year into its work representing plaintiffs seeking remedies for medical issues arising from the failure of metal-on-metal hip implant devices, many of those issues coming to light after an August 2010 recall of DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc.’s ASR XL Acetabular Hip Replacement System. Twelve months ago, DePuy, a subsidiary of healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson, recalled the ASR system following release of data from a study by the National Joint Registry (NJR) of England and Wales that indicated the five-year failure rate of this product was approximately 13 percent, or one in every eight patients receiving one of the hip implants, according to DePuy’s website.

According to Parker McDonald, in the recalled ASR device, the cup is so shallow that it is susceptible to so called “edge loading,” a situation wherein the joint’s ball strikes against the cup’s edge and causes the implant parts to rub together and chisel off debris that releases microscopic ions of the heavy metals chromium and cobalt into the body. Such elevated levels can cause metallosis, a reaction of the body’s immune system to heavy metals with potential negative affects on multiple organs and organ systems. Many patients have required an additional surgery, known as a revision surgery, to remove the defective implant.

“The system had been released to consumers in the United States in 2005. In March of 2010, DePuy issued a warning to surgeons in the United States that its ASR hip implant had a higher than expected failure rate but didn’t recall its ASR hip implant system until August,” said Dan McDonald, principal with the firm. “The company had voluntarily withdrawn the ASR hip implant from the Australian market in December 2009, nearly a year before it was pulled from the US market.”

DePuy is also under scrutiny for its metal-on-metal Pinnacle Acetabular Cup System. In May of this year, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) filed a transfer order consolidating all lawsuits involving the Pinnacle Acetabular Cup System in In Re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 224. The litigation will be overseen by the Honorable Judge James E. Kinkeade in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Texas.

Pinnacle patients have reported experiencing problems similar to those receiving the recalled ASR device, according to reports. The lawsuits involved raise the questions of whether the Pinnacle device was defectively designed and/or manufactured and whether DePuy failed to provide adequate warnings concerning the device. These hip implants have been available nationwide since their release into the market in 2002.

“We’re working with patients who have received a DePuy ASR or metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip implant who may qualify for compensation for the costs of additional surgeries and related medical care, physical incapacity, disfigurement, pain, suffering, and mental anguish,” Mr. McDonald explained. Parker McDonald has established an online website, http://www.hipimplantrecovery.com to provide the latest information for concerned DePuy ASR and Pinnacle hip implant patients and their families.

To date, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, nearly 1,000 lawsuits have been filed in federal and state courts across the country against DePuy Orthopaedics for its defective hip implant devices.

Recently, as reported by Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-10/fda-asks-j-j-stryker-for-patient-data.html), the FDA ordered all metal-on-metal hip device manufacturers to conduct studies of patients who received a metal-on-metal device. Problems encountered by patients dealing with hip implant defects have also been reported in The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/health/26innovate.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=metal%20on%20metal%20implant&st=cse) and other national publications.

Parker McDonald has offices in five Texas cities and is accessible via Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/PMLawFirm) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ParkerMcDonaldLaw). Website is http://www.ParkerMcDonaldLaw.com.

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