DePuy Pinnacle Lawsuit News: Bernstein Liebhard LLP Comments on New Study Finding High Rate of Pseudotumors Associated with Metal-on-Metal Hip Implants

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This research is of great interest to our Firm, as the pseudotumor formation cited in this study echo allegations made by our Pinnacle hip lawsuit clients.

New York, New York (PRWEB) October 17, 2013

As DePuy Pinnacle lawsuits (http://www.depuypinnacle-lawsuit.com/) involving a metal-on-metal version of the DePuy Pinnacle Hip Replacement System continue to mount in courts throughout the U.S., Bernstein Liebhard LLP notes that a new study has found that patients fitted with such devices may be at high risk for developing pseudotumors in the joint surrounding the implant. The study, which appeared in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery on September 4th, involved 129 individuals fitted with a certain metal-on-metal hip. According to the report, pseudotumor formation occurred in 28% of the hips studied after an average follow-up of 41 months. More than 73% of the pseudotumors observed were asymptomatic, while larger masses were associated with more complaints. More than 5% of the hips involved in the study failed prematurely due to symptomatic pseudotumors.

“This research is of great interest to our Firm, as the pseudotumor formation cited in this study echo allegations made by our Pinnacle hip lawsuit clients. The hip implant involved in this research consists of a metal-on-metal femoral head and acetabular shell. The Pinnacle cases involve a metal liner and similarly allege the formation of pseudotumors,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing the victims of defective drugs and medical devices. Jeffrey S. Grand, a partner with the Firm, serves on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for federally-filed Pinnacle hip lawsuits. Bernstein Liebhard LLP continues to offer free legal evaluations to alleged victims of serious complications associated with metal-on-metal hip implants.

DePuy Pinnacle Hip Lawsuits
Court documents indicate that more than 4,600 DePuy Pinnacle lawsuits involving a version of the Pinnacle hip system that utilizes the Ultamet liner are now pending in a multidistrict litigation underway in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio. The complaints allege that metal debris shed from the hip can accumulate to dangerous levels in a patient’s body, resulting in pseudotumor formation and other serious complications. Plaintiffs also assert that the all-metal Pinnacle shares similarities in design to the ASR hip, which DePuy Orthopaedics recalled in 2010, and question whether or not the all-metal Pinnacle should have been removed from the market as well. (In re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2244)

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has been investigating metal-on-metal hips since February 2011, amid concerns that they can shed dangerous amounts of metal debris in patients, leading to premature device failure, metallosis, pseudotumor formation and other adverse local tissue reactions. 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.

In May 2013, Bloomberg.com reported that DePuy Orthopaedics had decided to phase out sales of metal-on-metal hip implants, including the all-metal Pinnacle, in part due to recent FDA actions.**

Victims of pseudotumors, metallosis, premature device failure and other serious complications allegedly associated with the metal-on-metal DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement may be entitled to compensation for their medical care, pain and suffering, and other damages. Learn More about the complications allegedly associated with the metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip at Bernstein Liebhard LLP's website. To arrange for a free, no obligation legal review of your case, please call 800-511-5092 today.

*jbjs.org/article.aspx?articleid=1730325
**bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-16/j-j-will-stop-sales-of-metal-on-metal-hip-replacements.html, Bloomberg.com, May 17, 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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800-511-5092

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.depuypinnacle-lawsuit.com/

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