Information from a Johnson & Johnson internal study into the safety of the DePuy ASR Hip Replacement system is suggestive that the medical device manufacturer understood the serious risks associated with their hip implant.
The Johnson & Johnson internal study was recently unsealed in pretrial proceedings in a DePuy ASR Hip Replacement lawsuit in California, overseen by Judge J. Stephen Czuleger. As detailed in the internal study document, the DePuy hip implant proved defective, having a significantly high failure rate with approximately 40% of patients experiencing health complications and requiring revision surgeries after only five years.
Johnson & Johnson has never made public the data gathered in its internal study into its metal-on-metal hip replacement system, according to the New York Times. The reasons for withholding research findings is unclear. Though it may be assumed that one motivation for safeguarding the internal study could be the fact that, in the Johnson & Johnson report, there is the indication that revision surgery will be required for thousands more individuals who received the metal-on-metal DePuy hip implant.
In providing a statement for the New York Times article, a DePuy spokeswoman named Mindy Tinsley, stated that the Johnson & Johnson internal study illustrates data amassed from very limited sources, and therefore, can be used to neither generalize the high failure rate of the DePuy ASR Hip Replacement system nor the most commonly reported health complications linked to Johnson & Johson’s hip implant device.
Now with the Johnson & Johnson internal study document made public, the first in over 10,000 DePuy ASR Hip Replacement lawsuits was scheduled to begin trial proceedings on January 22, 2013 in a California Superior Court in Los Angeles County. According to court documents, the plaintiff, a North Dakota resident named Loren Kransky, filed his DePuy ASR Hip Replacement lawsuit claiming that he developed metallosis, or metal poisoning, as a result of DePuy’s metal-on-metal design that causes metal particles to release from the device and enter the bloodstream.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has observed cases of neurological damage resulting from exposure to metal ions in the bloodstream. Furthermore, there is also the potential for the tissues and bone surrounding the hip replacement to deteriorate and weaken due to the presence of metal ions.
If you or someone you love has experienced serious health complications resulting from a defective DePuy ASR Hip implant, you may be entitled to receive compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and undue suffering.
For a free legal evaluation regarding your defective hip replacement case, contact a lawyer at Carey Danis & Lowe today by calling 800.721.2519.
