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Failed Hip Surgery Lawsuits, Depuy Defective Hip Implant Lawsuits,
Depuy
Implantable Hip Failure Lawsuits, Failed ASR Hip Resurfacing
System Lawsuits, Failed Depuy ASR XL Acetabular System
Lawsuits
by Texas Failed Hip Surgery Product
Liability, Medical Negligence, & Defective Product
Lawyer, Jason Coomer
In August, 2010, DePuy Orthopaedics Inc.
announced that it would be recalling two hip replacement
products, the ASR Hip Resurfacing System and the ASR XL Acetabular System, after receiving new data which indicated
that more patients than expected experienced pain and other
symptoms which required a revision surgery following the
initial hip replacement procedure. The patients with
DePuy ASR and ASR XL metal-on-metal hip implants have
experienced loosening and dislocation of the device
resulting in the need for early revision surgery and/or the
release of metal debris causing muscle and soft tissue
damage.
If you or a
family member have
been the victim of a failed hip replacement surgery including a
defective hip replacement cup implant or hip replacement
system, please feel free to
submit an
inquiry or
send an e-mail to Texas
failed hip replacement surgery and defective hip implant lawyer Jason Coomer.
He is a Texas defective product lawyer & medical
negligence lawyer and commonly works with other product
liability and medical negligence lawyers to investigate and
handle medical negligence & product liability lawsuits.
Defective Hip Cup Lawsuits, Medical Negligence Failed
Hip Surgery Lawsuits, and Failed Hip Replacement Surgery
Lawsuits, Texas Medical Negligence Hip Surgery
Lawsuits (Defective Hip Implant
Negligence Lawyer)
On August 24, 2010, Johnson & Johnson,
and its wholly owned subsidiary DePuy Orthopedics, Inc.
announced that it would be recalling 93,000 hip implant
products including: The ASR XL Acetabular System (Total Hip
Replacement) and The ASR Hip Resurfacing System. Both
have an unreasonably high failure rate.
The decision to recall the two products
was mostly based on the findings from a recent study
conducted in the UK that showed a five-year rate of revision
surgery of 12 percent for the ASR Resurfacing System and
about 13 percent for the ASR XL system. The double digit
rates are uncommon and higher than expected.
The study showed that the faulty hip
replacement may cause serious injuries including but not
limited to: 1) severe pain, swelling and inflammation
leading to damage to surrounding bone and tissue, partial or
complete lack of mobility and 2) Genotoxicity and potential
cancer causing injury: One of the primary functions of
Mammalian immune system is to fight imortalized cancer cells
within the body itself. A diminished capacity of immune
system not only increases the rate and severity of
infection, it also becomes less effective in holding the
cancer cells in check.
As a result of the study, the British
Orthopedic Association advised the Medicines and Healthcare
products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of the UK, that over time
metal debris may affect the performance of a hip implant and
cause painful complications. The same expert group links
metal hip implants, such as DePuy AST to genotoxicity. The
local exposure to metal debris causes the chromosomes of
bone marrow or white blood cells to breakdown.
Genotoxic effects may result in cancer or
even heritable defects, if reproductive cells are affected.
The defect in these implant devices leads to misalignment of
metal ball and acetabular socket causing a high rate of
metallic shaving formation and accumulation of metal ions in
surrounding tissues. The primary metals in these devices are
Cobalt (Co) and Chromium (Cr), and potentially initiating
the biological phenomenon of Genotoxicity, which results in
genetic damage to chromosomes of ostiocites in femur bulb
(bone marrow cells). Studies on mutagenicity of chemicals in
human body have shown that there are good evidence for an
association between these metal ions (and others not
mentioned here) from hip replacement and increased
genotoxicity in patients.
Hip Replacement
Surgery including Total Joint Replacement Surgery, Total Hip
Replacement Surgery, and Surgery
Hip replacement surgery, also called
total hip arthroplasty, involves removing a diseased or
broken hip joint and replacing it with an artificial joint,
called a prosthesis. Hip prostheses commonly consist of a
ball component, made of metal or ceramic, and a socket,
which has an insert or liner made of plastic, ceramic or
metal. The implants used in hip replacement are or should be
biocompatible (meaning they're designed to be accepted by
your body) and made to resist corrosion, degradation and
wear.
Hip replacement surgery is typically used
for people with hip joint damage from arthritis or a serious
injury. Followed by rehabilitation, hip replacement
surgery can relieve pain and restore range of motion and
function of the hip joint. However, it should be
understood that Hip Replacement Surgery is an invasive and
serious medical procedure that can be extremely hard on a
person and will require significant time to recover.
It is important that a person seeking a hip replacement
consult with one or more medical doctors that they trust to
determine if they are healthy enough to undergo hip
replacement surgery.
As a total hip joint replacement replaces
the ends of both bones in a damaged hip joint to create new
joint surfaces and a total hip replacement surgery replaces
the upper end of the thighbone (femur) with a metal ball and
resurfaces the hip socket in the pelvic bone with a metal
shell and plastic liner, it is essential that the hip
implants are biocompatible and are correctly made to resist
corrosion, degradation, and wear as well as to work well
without rubbing.
The hip joint is like a ball that fits in
a socket. The socket portion of the hip is called the
acetabulum. The femoral head at the top of the thigh bone
(femur) rotates within the curved surface of the acetabulum.
With DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System there are two
components: a one-piece acetabular cup which is a metal
liner replaces the acetabulum, while the natural Femural
head (ball) is covered with a metal sheet cap which is then
inserted in the new Acetabular sucked placed in hip bone.
In an ASR XL Acetabular total hip
replacement system, there are three components: the femoral
stem is inserted inside the upper end of femur, the femoral
head (or ball) is connected to the stem and then fits inside
the replaced-Acetabulum of hip bone, the acetabular.
Ideally, once the three components are aligned, more natural
movement may be restored. Injuries: The two hip replacement
products DePuy recalled are the ASR XL Acetabular System,
and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System (the latter was not
approved for marketing in U.S.). Compared with other hip
replacements, the recalled DePuy ASR products are more twice
as likely to fail within first five years,—about 1 in 8
percent of the replacements will fail within 5 years.
Metal-on-metal articulations produce
principally nanoparticles and metal ions. Nanoparticles are
more likely to cause genetic damage than microparticles. It
has been shown that increased levels of metal ions in the
serum produce a reduction in the number of CD8 lymphocytes
(specialized white blood cells) which is dose-dependent.
Progressive time-dependent mutagenic changes –
translocations, chromosomal aberrations, and aneuploidy –
have been shown in patients with metal-on-metal
articulation.
Revision Surgery: one of the most serious
and prolonged injuries resulting from DePuy defective hip
replacement systems, is the need for surgical extraction of
the faulty ASR Hip Implant Device and often replacement with
another defect-free Hip Replacement System of proper design
by other orthopedic device manufacturer. The Hip replacement
by its very nature of necessity is often surgically
performed in middle-aged and elderly population. And
recovery from the second hip replacement is often more
difficult than after the first. A second surgery of this
nature could and often does increase the risk of
complications, severe infections, prolonged recovery time,
and death. In some patients the infection resulting from
defective ASR system, is so advanced and systemic that a
revision surgery is not possible. In this group of patients
the only option is a surgical extraction of defected device
without any corrective hip replacement to restore the lost
mobility function patients experienced in first place.
After a person has gone through an
extensive hip surgery including the lengthy recovery and
process, it can be very upsetting to learn that the
manufacturer incorrectly made the implant so that it will
have to removed and the person will have to undergo the hip
replacement surgery again requiring more recovery, missed
time from work, and missed time from family and normal
functioning.
Depuy Defective Hip Cup Lawsuits, Medical Negligence Failed
Hip Surgery Lawsuits, and Depuy Failed Hip Replacement Surgery
Lawsuits, Texas Medical Negligence Hip Surgery
Lawsuits (Defective Hip Implant
Negligence Lawyer)
Some experts feel that this recall was
long overdue, and wonder why it took same devices were
withdrawn from the market in Australia in December with The
Health Report (Australia), Dr. Stephen Graves, director of
the Association’s National Joint Replacement Registry, said
that the registry years that the ASR device had a higher
rate of failure. He said: In our 2007 annual report we
identified the resurfacing part of as having at least twice
the risk of revision compared to other resurfacing
devices….after three years [there] was four to five times
the risk revised compared to other devices.
Orthopedic surgeons around the US noticed
defects associated with DePuy ASR XL Acetabular hip implants
long before official products recall. According to Dr.
Joshua J. Jacobs from the Rush University Medical Center,
―Most major medical centers have seen issues with this
device. This does not come as a surprise. Defects Associated
with DePuy ASR XL Acetabular Hip Implant System According to
Dr. Kevin J. Bozic, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at San
Francisco Medical Center, in reference to DePuy hip implants
recall: ―It was a design failure that frankly was not picked
up until they were implanted in thousands of patients.‖ The
DePuy ASR Surgeon Recall Pack contains a detailed listing of
defects associated with the ASR XL Acetabular hip implants.
These defects include component loosing and malalignment,
dislocation of the elements, infection, fracture of the
bone, metal sensitivity, and pain.
Defects Associated with DePuy ASR XL
Acetabular Hip Implant System According to Dr. Kevin J.
Bozic, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at San Francisco Medical
Center, in reference to DePuy hip implants recall: ―It was a
design failure that frankly was not picked up until they
were implanted in thousands of patients. The DePuy ASR
Surgeon Recall Pack contains a detailed listing of defects
associated with the ASR XL Acetabular hip implants. These
defects include component loosing and malalignment,
dislocation of the elements, infection, fracture of the
bone, metal sensitivity, and pain. Current Litigation
environment on DePuy: As of beginning of September a handful
of calss action lawsuits have already been filed in U.S.
District courts, with an strong appeal by plaintiffs seeking
an order from Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407 to enter an order transferring
cases to the District of New Jersey and assigned to the
Honorable Judge Susan D. Wigenton for coordination. As of
September 3 the MDL designation of MDL 2197 has been
assigned, although these cases have not been transferred
yet, pending a hearing in late October. Lanier Law Firm is
actively advertising these cases, and has filed 2 cases in
Northern District of California San Francisco Division.
There is also a growing nationally media and web campaign by
various plaintiffs’ firms gathering these cases. Allegation
in Original Petition filed in US Dist. Court, Northern Dist.
Of Cal. San Francisco Div.: 1. Negligence 2. Strict Product
Liability (Manufacturing Defect);
Depuy Failed Implant Lawsuits are
expected to include the following allegations including
Design Defect; Inadequate Warning; Failure to Conform to
Representation; Failure to Adequately Test; Breach of
Express Warranty; Breach of Implied Warranty of
Merchantability; Fraudulent Concealment; Intentional
Misrepresentation; Negligent Misrepresentation; and
Unlawful, Unfair and Fraudulent Business Practices in
Violation of CAL. BUS. & PROF. CODE § 17200, et seq
Defective Hip Implant
Devices Lead to Failed Hip Replacement Surgery and Patients
suffering Pain, Impairment, and Mental Anguish as well as
having to have Second Hip Replacement Surgery to Repair the
Problem
Failed hip implant surgery including defective
hip implants have been becoming more and more common.
Some hip implant medical devices that have been the subject of failed
hip surgery lawsuits, recalls, or FDA actions include the Zimmer Durom Cup, the
Stryker Corp. Trident Hemispherical and Trident PSL cups, DePuy
ASR Hip Resurfacing Systems, and
Depuy ASR XL Acetabular Systems.
Through failed
hip replacement lawsuits many patients are alleging that defective hip implants including defective
Zimmer Cups, Trident Hemispherical and PSL Cups, or
DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. ASR Hip Resurfacing System and the
ASR XL Acetabular Systems have
caused them pain, suffering, impairment, and the need for
additional hip replacement surgeries.
The Zimmer Durom Cup has been implanted
into over 12,000 people and is primarily used in Total Hip
Replacement surgeries. In July 2008 sales of the
Zimmer Durom Cup were suspended by Zimmer, after reports
that the cup was defective and failed to bond in many
patients. This failure to bond caused these patients
to have to undergo painful revision hip surgeries.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
has warned the Stryker Corporation about the Trident
Hemispherical and Trident PSL cups that have "failed to
function" as well as about hip implant components with "poor
fixation" These cup or failed implant have also
required painful revision hip surgeries. The latest warning
letter released by the FDA indicated that the Stryker
Corporation received multiple complaints from 2005 through
2007 involving devices that failed to work and hip implant
components that had bad fixation. Some hip implant failures
have required that hip implant patients undergo a follow up
surgery to fix the problem with the first hip implant
surgery. These problems in addition to the failure to
function and poor fixation include the issue of terrible
squeaking noises coming from the hip implant.
In August, 2010, DePuy Orthopaedics Inc.
announced that it would be recalling two hip replacement
products, the ASR Hip Resurfacing System and the ASR XL Acetabular System, after receiving new data which indicated
that more patients than expected experienced pain and other
symptoms which required a revision surgery following the
initial hip replacement procedure. The patients with
DePuy ASR and ASR XL metal-on-metal hip implants have
experienced loosening and dislocation of the device
resulting in the need for early revision surgery and/or the
release of metal debris causing muscle and soft tissue
damage.
The FDA has warned manufacturers of hip
implants that the recurrence of squeaking noises of hip
implants with ceramic bearing components have resulted in
revision surgeries due to implant failures (fractures, pain,
wear particles, and fragments) and many patients have and
are expected to experience problems including Hip Pain and
may require additional hip implant surgery to repair the
defective hip implant devices.
In reviewing
a potential failed hip replacement surgery medical negligence
lawsuits and failed hip replacement defective hip implant
lawsuits, it is extremely helpful to know what type
of hip implant was implanted into the patient, when the hip implant
occurred, if a second hip replacement surgery was needed or
will be needed, when the hip implant began to malfunction,
and what problems the defective hip implant caused.
It is also helpful to be able to review the medical records
of the surgery.
For more information on potential defective hip implant lawsuits or failed
hip replacement surgery medical
negligence lawsuits, feel free
to
e-mail Texas Failed Hip Implant Surgery Lawyer, Jason S. Coomer.
Regardless, as to whether the failed hip replacement surgery
was caused by a defective Zimmer Cup, defective Trident
Hemispherical Cup, defective Trident PSL Cup, defective DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. ASR Hip
Resurfacing Systemt, defective DePuy ASR XL
Acetabular System,
and/or negligent surgeon, it is extremely frustrating to a
person that has had a
failed hip replacement surgery to learn that they are going
to have to undergo a second hip replacement surgery because
of a product defect, manufacturing defect, or negligence.
Defective Hip Implant
Device Lawsuits,
Failed Hip Replacement Surgery Lawsuits, and Spinal Cord, Neck, & Back Surgery Lawsuits
Regardless, as to
what type of failed hip replacement surgery lawsuit a person
is litigating including a defective Zimmer Cup lawsuit, defective Trident
Hemispherical Cup lawsuit, defective Trident PSL Cup
Lawsuit, defective DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. ASR Hip
Resurfacing System lawsuit, defective DePuy ASR XL
Acetabular System lawsuit,
and/or a medical negligence hip replacement lawsuit, a
failed hip replacement lawsuit can take significant
resources to investigate and file a lawsuit. To pursue
a failed hip replacement surgery lawsuit, it will be
necessary to obtain the person medical records, medical
expenses, and type of implant that was implanted.
Patients with
Serious Hip Injuries when
Seeking Pain Relief can sometimes Fall Victim to Defective
Products, Negligent Health Care, and "For Profit" Medical
Professionals Seeking to Increase Profits
Unfortunately, there are medical
clinics, medical implant sales people, and doctors that are
more interested in profit and their bottom line than what is
best for a patient. Some of these medical
professionals carelessly cause painful and difficult
conditions to become much worse by pushing defective medical
devices or pushing surgeries when other less drastic medical
options are available.
As such, it is usually best
to get a second or third opinion prior to agreeing to have a
hip surgery operation as well as to make sure that you trust
your medical providers and are sure that they are working in
your best interest.
Texas Medical Malpractice Lawyers
As a Texas medical malpractice lawyer
Jason Coomer handles
Texas
medical malpractice claims as well as
federal medical malpractice
claims and commonly works with other Federal
Medical Malpractice Lawyers and Medical Malpractice
Lawyers throughout the nation to seek compensation for wrongful death claims and severely injured patients
that have been injured through medical
mistakes and medical carelessness.
To have a successful claim, you have to
have a doctor willing to testify that medical malpractice occurred
and the negligence resulted in damages. This medical negligence has to be
more than just a bad result or judgment call, it has to
deviate from the standard of care in the medical community.
As a Texas medical malpractice lawyer, Jason Coomer works with other
professionals to review and handle medical malpractice claims.
Causes of Texas Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
Unfortunately, medical mistakes happen
when doctors and nurses get too busy, are understaffed,
under the influence of drugs, or are just not paying
attention. As medical budgets go down and healing
people becomes more of a "for profit" business, cost cutting
measures are causing more medical mistakes. Overworked
surgeons,
doctors, residents, and nurses are much more likely to make
mistakes than well rested health care professionals.
Medical mistakes also happen more often
when no one is watching. It is extremely important
when you are in the hospital to have someone that is with
you and watching out for your well being. This is
especially true if you have an allergy to certain types of
medicines. Communication with your health care
professionals is also important and can greatly limit
medical mistakes.
Further complicated procedures such as
spinal cord surgery require extremely competent surgeons
that are on the top of their game to successfully complete.
A patient needs to be extremely careful when having spinal
cord surgery to make sure that they have a good surgeon and
everyone understands the risks of the procedure. In
some cases, even the best surgeons that do everything
correctly will have bad results and the spinal cord surgery
will fail. However, at other times a defective
product, a "for profit" surgeon or clinic, or a careless
surgeon can cause a failed spinal cord surgery that will
paralyze a patient for life.
If you feel you or need a Texas failed
spinal cord surgery medical
malpractice lawyer because you or a loved one has been seriously injured
by medical negligence or someone close to you has died as a
result of medical negligence, it is important to investigate the
claim and make sure that it does not happen again.
Communication Prevents Many Medical Mistakes
Texas has several hospitals that
typically provide quality medical care, but sometimes
mistakes are made. It is always a good idea to have
someone that you trust look out when you are in
the hospital. This person can communicate important
information regarding your condition and watch out for you
when you are in the hospital. It is important to make
sure that you or your medical advocate communicate with
health care professionals to limit the
mistakes that are made.
However, even with proper communication medical mistakes
are made. If a mistake is made, it
is important to report the mistake and if the mistake causes
serious injury or death it is important to investigate a
potential medical malpractice lawsuit. This is because
medical mistakes that no one knows about will not be noticed
and will not result in future better medical care.
Medical mistakes that are reported will help other patients
and are an essential part of the feedback needed to improve
our health care delivery system.
Defective Hip Cup Lawyers, Medical Negligence Failed
Hip Surgery Lawyers, and Failed Hip Replacement Surgery
Lawyers, Texas Medical Negligence Hip Surgery
Lawyers (Defective Hip Implant
and Medical Negligence Lawsuits)
Regardless,
as to whether the failed hip replacement surgery
lawsuit is caused by a defective Zimmer Cup, defective Trident
Hemispherical Cup, defective Trident PSL Cup, defective DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. ASR Hip
Resurfacing System, defective DePuy ASR XL
Acetabular System,
and/or medical negligence, it is important to understand the
cause of a failed hip replacement surgery.
If you need a Texas Failed Hip
Replacement Surgery Lawyer, Failed Hip Resurfacing System
Lawyer, or a Failed Hip Cup Implant Lawyer, feel free to
contact Texas
Failed Hip Replacement Surgery Attorney, Jason S. Coomer. His office frequently works with other
Failed Hip Replacement Surgery Lawyers throughout Texas and the United
States.
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