DePuy Pinnacle Lawsuit News: Bernstein Liebhard LLP Comments on Canadian Report That Shows Some Metal-on-Metal Hip Recipients More Likely to Need Revision Surgery
New York, New York (PRWEB) July 23, 2013 -- As DePuy Pinnacle lawsuit claims continue to mount in courts around the country, Bernstein Liebhard LLP notes that a new report out of Canada shows that patients fitted with certain metal-on-metal hip implants are more likely to require revision surgery to have their hip replaced. According to the report, which was released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information on July 18th, patients with large-diameter modular metal-on-metal hip replacements had a 5.9 percent chance of needing a second implant within five years compared with a 2.7 percent chance among recipients of the most common type of metal-on-plastic device. To reach its conclusions, the Institute looked at data from 56,942 hip replacement surgeries that were performed in all Canadian provinces except Quebec from 2003 to 2011.*
“We are not surprised at all by the Institute’s findings. The report echoes what we have seen from our own metal-on-metal clients, including those we are representing in Pinnacle hip lawsuits,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing the victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The Firm continues to offer free legal evaluations to alleged victims of serious complications associated with the all-metal DePuy Pinnacle Hip and other metal-on-metal hip implants.
DePuy Pinnacle Lawsuits
Metal-on-metal hips, like the all-metal version of the Pinnacle device that utilizes the Ultamet liner, consist of a metal ball and a metal cup. In the U.S., the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has been investigating metal-on-metal hip replacements since February 2011, amid concerns that they can shed dangerous amounts of metal debris in patients, leading to premature device failure, metallosis 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.**
On May 17th the New York Times 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. Among other things, the regulations proposed by the FDA in January would require the manufacturers of metal-on-metal hips currently on the market to conduct post-market safety studies in order to keep selling the products.***
Court documents indicate that more than 4,400 Pinnacle hip lawsuit claims are now pending in a federal litigation underway in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas. All of the lawsuits allege that the all-metal version of the Pinnacle implant caused plaintiffs to suffer serious complications due to its propensity to shed dangerous amounts of metal ions into the tissue surrounding the implant, as well as the blood stream. Jeffrey S. Grand, a partner with Bernstein Liebhard LLP, serves on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the federal DePuy Pinnacle litigation. (In re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2244; N.D. Texas)
Victims of 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. Additional information about filing a Pinnacle hip lawsuit is available at Bernstein Liebhard’s website. To arrange for a free, no obligation legal review of your case, please call 800-511-5092 today.
*cihi.ca/cihi-ext-portal/internet/en/document/types+of+care/specialized+services/joint+replacements/release_18july13
**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
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/
Felecia L. Stern, DePuy Pinnacle Lawsuit Information Center, http://www.depuypinnacle-lawsuit.com/, 800-511-5092, [email protected]
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