DePuy ASR Hip Recall News: Bernstein Liebhard LLP Comments on Irish Health Services Plan to Launch Major Review of Metal-on-Metal Hip Implants
New York, New York (PRWEB) July 09, 2013 -- As DePuy ASR hip lawsuit claims continue to move forward in courts throughout the U.S., Bernstein Liebhard LLP notes that Ireland’s Health Services is reportedly planning to embark on a major review of metal-on-metal hip implants. According to a report from The Journal.ie, more than 8,000 people in the Republic of Ireland are believed to have received metal-on-metal hips, including 3,500 who were fitted with devices that were part of the August 2010 DePuy ASR hip recall.*
“This news is not surprising, especially in light of the fact that regulators in the U.S. and the U.K. have already begun reviews of all-metal hips. Our Firm continues to hear from patients affected by the DePuy ASR recall, as well recipients of other metal-on-metal hip devices, on a regular basis,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing the victims of defective drugs and medical devices, including hundreds of clients in DePuy ASR lawsuits. The Firm continues to offer free legal evaluations to anyone who suffered serious complications allegedly associated with metal-on-metal hip replacements.
DePuy ASR Hip Recall
The DePuy ASR hip recall was issued in August 2010, after an unexpectedly high number of people experienced pain and other issues that led to premature failure of the device that required revision surgery to remove and replace the hip. When the recall was announced, DePuy Orthopaedics stated that the five-year failure rate associated with the ASR hips could be as high as 13%. However, according to a New York Times report published in January 2013, subsequent data has indicated the early failure rate could be closer to 40%.**
According to TheJournal.ie, regulators in the U.K. have already conducted a review of metal-on-metal hips. In the U.S., the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has been investigating the devices since February 2011, amid concerns that they can shed dangerous amounts of metal debris in patients, leading to metallosis and other adverse local tissue reactions, pain and swelling, and ultimately premature failure of the device. In January 2013, the FDA advised all patients fitted with metal-on-metal hips to undergo metal ion testing if they were experiencing signs or symptoms of device failure. The agency has also proposed new rules that would subject all-metal hips to greater regulatory scrutiny.***
Court documents indicate that Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy Orthopaedics unit are currently named in more than 11,000 lawsuits filed in U.S. courts on behalf of alleged victims of the DePuy ASR hip recall. Most of the DePuy ASR lawsuits pending in this country have been filed in a multidistrict litigation now underway in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, where Bernstein Liebhard LLP is actively filing claims. (In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation – MDL 2197) While court documents indicate that the first trial in that litigation will not begin until the fall, two DePuy ASR hip lawsuits have already been heard by juries at the state court level. In March, a plaintiff was awarded more than $8 million after a Los Angeles Superior Court jury found that the ASR was defectively designed. (Kransky v. DePuy, BC456086, California Superior Court, Los Angeles County) However, a jury in Chicago found for Johnson & Johnson in a second trial just one month later. (Strum v. DePuy, 2011-L-9352, Circuit Court of Cook County).
DePuy and Johnson & Johnson are also named in lawsuits involving a metal-on-metal version of the Pinnacle Hip Replacement System, most of which are pending in a multidistrict litigation underway in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas. Bernstein Liebhard LLP partner, Jeffrey S. Grand, is serving on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in that litigation. (In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation - MDL No. 2244) In May, DePuy Orthopaedics announced it would phase out sales of its metal-on-metal hips, including the all-metal Pinnacle device. Among other things, the company cited the FDA’s recent regulatory actions as a contributing factor to its decision.****
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is also representing clients fitted with the Biomet M2a Magnum hip implant in a multidistrict litigation underway in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana (In re: Biomet M2a Magnum Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation – MDL No. 2391). The Firm has also filed lawsuits on behalf of individuals affected by the Stryker hip recall for Rejuvenate and ABG II hip stems in a multicounty litigation now moving forward in New Jersey Superior Court. (In re Stryker Rejuvenate Hip Stem and the ABG II Modular Hip Stem Litigation, No. 296). In addition, Bernstein Liebhard LLP is representing alleged victims of injuries resulting from the Wright Conserve hip replacement, as well as the Wright Profemur hip implant, and continues to investigate claims related to the 2012 Smith & Nephew hip recall of an optional metal liner component used with the R3 Acetabular Hip Replacement System.
Individuals allegedly injured as a result of the DePuy ASR hip or any other metal-on-metal device may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and other damages. A wealth of information regarding the DePuy ASR recall is available on Bernstein Liebhard LLP’s website. For a free DePuy ASR lawsuit review, please contact one of our attorneys by calling 800-511-5092.
*thejournal.ie/hip-replacement-review-hse-983263-Jul2013/, TheJournal.ie, July 8, 2013
**nytimes.com/2013/01/23/business/jj-study-suggested-hip-device-could-fail-in-thousands-more.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0, New York Times, January 22, 2013
***fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/AlertsandNotices/ucm335775.htm?source=govdelivery, FDA, January 17, 2013
****nytimes.com/2013/05/17/business/jj-is-phasing-out-metal-replacement-hips.html?ref=health&_r=0, New York Times, May 16, 2013
About Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993, including those who have been harmed by dangerous drugs, defective medical devices and consumer products. The firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the “Plaintiffs’ Hot List,” recognizing the top plaintiffs’ firms in the country, for the past 10 consecutive years.
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ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. © 2013 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, 800-511-5092. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
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Contact Information:
Felecia L. Stern, Esq.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
info(at)consumerinjurylawyers(dot)com
http://www.consumerinjurylawyers.com
Felecia L. Stern, Bernstein Liebhard LLP, http://www.consumerinjurylawyers.com, 800-511-5092, [email protected]
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