DePuy Pinnacle Hip Lawsuit Filed By Wright & Schulte LLC On Behalf of Recipient Who Faces Surgery To Replace Artificial Hip Implant
Columbus, OH (PRWEB) July 26, 2014 -- Another DePuy Pinnacle hip lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, DePuy Orthopedics, Inc., has been filed by Wright & Schulte LLC. This DePuy Pinnacle hip lawsuit has been filed on behalf of an Erie County, Ohio man who alleges that he has had pain and tenderness in his left hip and groin since receiving his Pinnacle Hip implant in 2008. According to this hip replacement lawsuit, the Ohio man will be forced to undergo a complex and risky revision surgery to replace the metal-on-metal components that are purportedly defective. The DePuy Pinnacle hip lawsuit also alleges that the Ohio man faces possible metal poisoning, bone loss, chronic pain, and other serious medical problems which will result in a decreased quality of life. The hip replacement lawsuit was filed July 7, 2014, in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas (Case No. 3:14-cv-2435) where multidistrict litigation is proceeding involving the DePuy Pinnacle Hip Replacement System. The Master Case List for the DePuy litigation shows there are currently 6,207 DePuy Pinnacle lawsuits pending, as of July 15, 2014. (In Re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2244)
[jpml.uscourts.gov/sites/jpml/files/Pending_MDL_Dockets_By_District-July-15-2014.pdf, July 15, 2014]
Wright & Schule LLC is currently representing numerous clients in DePuy Hip lawsuits that content revision surgery and metalosis. If you have experienced painful side-effects purportedly due to a hip implant contact one of the firms attorneys for a free legal consultation by calling 1-800-399-0795 or visit http://www.yourlegalhelp.com and look under defective medical devices for more information.
The Pinnacle complaint further contends that the defendants had received reports of the early failure of the Pinnacle Hip Replacement System when the Ohio man, then 58, underwent surgery in August 2008. The complaint contends that the defendants refused to disclose this information to the public and continued to sell the medical device. The DePuy lawsuit purports that the Pinnacle design is defective and was not sufficiently tested because the metal components rub together which causes the device to prematurely fail and force patients to undergo surgery to replace the hip implant. (Case No. 3:14-cv-2435)
Johnson & Johnson announced that it would stop selling metal-on-metal and ceramic-on-metal hip replacement systems due, in part, to proposed changes by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in regulating metal-on-metal hip replacement systems. In January 2013, the FDA proposed changes that required manufacturers of hip replacement medical devices sold before 1976 to undergo a premarket approval process. This procedure requires manufacturers to present valid scientific evidence, including human clinical trials, to show that their products are safe and effective if they want to sell them. In 1976, federal legislation went into effect that allowed the FDA to have premarket authority over medical devices. Prior to the 1976 legislation, manufacturers of medical devices did not have to submit clinical studies before selling their products. The medical devices were designated as “higher risk” devices and regulated according to similar medical devices already sold in the United States. Bloomberg reported that Johnson & Johnson also decided to stop selling its metal-on-metal hip implants because sales in the U.S. and Europe had declined since 2007 after doctors began questioning the safety of the medical devices and patients began filing lawsuits.
[federalregister.gov/articles/2013/01/18/2013-01006/effective-date-of-requirement-for-premarket-approval-for-two-class-iii-preamendments-devices, January 18, 2013] [bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-16/j-j-will-stop-sales-of-metal-on-metal-hip-replacements.html, May 17, 2013]
The FDA reports that metal-on-metal replacement hip systems have a metal femoral head or ball, that rotates within a metal cup. According to the FDA, the metal ball and the metal cup rub against each other when an implant recipient walks or run. The walking or running causes metal particles to wear off the device and fall into the space around the hip implant. Some of the metal ions from the all-metal implant or from the metal particles will enter the bloodstream. Over time, the metal particles can cause damage to bone or tissue surrounding the implant and joint, according to the FDA. The federal agency advises all-metal hip implant recipients to have a blood test to determine whether they have excessive levels of metal ion in their blood if they experience pain in the groin, hip or leg, swelling at or near the hip joint, or a limp or change in their walking ability. [fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/ImplantsandProsthetics/MetalonMetalHipImplants/ucm241604.htm, January 17, 2013]
Court documents indicate the DePuy Pinnacle hip lawsuit filed in multidistrict litigation in the Texas federal court have similar allegations of implant recipients experiencing chronic pain and blood poisoning because of the alleged defective design of the hip implant. The lawsuits also contend that hip implant recipients had to undergo revision surgery or will undergo revision surgery in the future to remove the medical device. The product liability attorneys at Wright & Schulte LLC, recently filed another DePuy Pinnacle lawsuit on behalf of an Ohio man who alleges that he had a DePuy Pinnacle all-metal artificial hip implant in July 2009 and experienced so much pain that he had to have revision surgery four years later to remove the medical device. (Case No. 3:14-cv-2427)
About Wright & Schulte LLC
Wright & Schulte LLC, an experienced personal injury firm, is dedicated to the belief that America’s legal system should work for the people. Every day, the attorneys of Wright & Schulte LLC stand up for the rights of people who have been injured or wronged and fight tirelessly to ensure that even the world’s most powerful corporations take responsibility for their actions. The law firm is actively presenting clients in the DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement lawsuit proceedings. If you have experienced complications from the DePuy Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implant or other metal-on-metal hip implants, you may be eligible to file your own lawsuit. To schedule a free legal consultation, contact Wright & Schulte LLC today through yourlegalhelp.com or by calling 1-800-399-0795.
Contact:
Wright & Schulte LLC
812 East National Road
Vandalia, Ohio 45377
1-800-399-0795
http://www.yourlegalhelp.com
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Richard Schulte, Wright & Schulte LLC, http://www.yourlegalhelp.com, +1 1-800-399-0795, [email protected]
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