U.K. Hip Replacement Patients File Lawsuits Against DePuy

At least 40 patients in the South Yorkshire region of the United Kingdom have sued DePuy and other hip replacement manufacturers due to alleged difficulties they’ve experienced since being implanted with the artificial hips, according to an article that appeared on July 17, 2012 on thestar.co.uk Web site.

At least 165 patients in the Sheffield area are living with “problematic metal hip joints” in addition to 181 patients in Rotherham, and another 164 in Chesterfield. Thirty-four patients have filed lawsuits against DePuy International, and six more have filed complaints against other companies.

An attorney for the plaintiffs stated, “More than 10,000 people received this type of device, but we still don’t know the full extent as many problems may not yet have developed. Anyone who thinks they may be affected should contact their surgeon or GP.”

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in the U.K. recalled metal-on-metal hip implants last year, after fears they could cause “bone and muscle problems, loss of mobility, nausea and long-term disability.”

Use of New Materials Explored at Recent U.S. Hearing

A recent hearing held in Washington D.C. between FDA officials and prominent individuals from the medical device industry concluded that metal-on-metal hip replacement devices need to be reconfigured using other materials such as polyethylene and ceramic. While the metal hip implant systems can be beneficial to patients in some cases, statistics show that combinations of ceramic-on-ceramic, metal-on-polyethylene, and ceramic-on-polyethylene are now being used in up to 85 percent of hip and knee replacement surgeries, according to a July 13, 2012 article that appeared on the Plastics Today Web site. Use of all-metal hip implants has decreased to a scant one percent.

Explore Your Legal Options If You’ve Been Injured By Your Artificial Hip

The Rottenstein Law Group has over 25 years of collective experience helping individuals who have been injured by defective medical devices and dangerous prescriptions drugs. If you have been implanted with a recalled DePuy hip replacement device and are experiencing symptoms of failure, we can help. If you’d like a free, confidential consultation with one of our attorneys, click on this link or call 1-877-312-3274 to see if you can obtain compensation from DePuy.

For more information on the DePuy recall, download this free brochure.