DePuy Tried to Shift Blame on Doctors and Patients for Injuries Caused by Defective Hip Replacement

DePuy Orthopedics, the manufacturer of the ASR hip replacement, tried to avoid taking the blame for the serious injuries people have suffered after getting the ASR hip replacement implant by claiming doctors and patients are the problem.

DePuy, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, released their hip replacement device in 2005 and quickly received numerous complaints from patients who were forced to endure a second hip replacement surgery after their DePuy ASR hip replacement implant failed. Unfortunately, DePuy waited until 2010 to officially recall the defective implant.

"It is a complete untruth that DePuy did not have reason to withdraw the ASR [hip replacement implant] before now," said Dr. Stephen Graves, the Director of the National Joint Replacement Registry in Australia. "We have been telling them since 2007, but they allowed it to be used on thousands of people."

Despite the evidence that the ASR hip replacement implant was causing major problems, DePuy argued that surgeons were at fault since they failed to follow directions properly. If that wasn't bad enough, on September 22nd after the hip implant recall was announced, DePuy decided to blame the patients for the implant's failure. The company had the nerve to actually say patients were "not careful and at fault and did activities that contributed substantially to the alleged injuries and damages," according to mnnatstop.org.

Talk about desperate. I guess a company backed into a corner after releasing a defective product will say just about anything. Never mind the fact that thousands of patients have suffered tremendous pain and hardship due to the failed DePuy hip replacements. 

Many patients have suffered horrific DePuy hip replacement implant injuries including:

• Metallosis - metal shavings from the device that can cause bone loss, fluid masses, etc.
• Aseptic lymphocytic vasculitic lesions - develop due to increased sensitivity to the metal in the device
• Cobalt or chromium poisoning
• Pseudotumors - fluid-filled masses around the DePuy hip implant which can re-occur in your body until the implant is removed.

If you or a loved one has suffered one of these injuries, consult with an attorney right away to discuss your legal options. DePuy should be held liable for their negligence in designing such a defective hip replacement implant.

PA