After Recall, ASR Lawsuits Rise

Its recall may have propelled many patients to action. Today, the number of lawsuits filed against DePuy is increasing at a faster rate.

Lawsuits are pouring in against DePuy Orthopaedic Inc. for alleged Articular Surface Replacement (ASR) hip systems. One of the latest to be filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois comes from Michael Schaff. He is seeking damages for more than $75,000  for alleged negligence by DePuy.

Those lawsuits that were filed ahead of Schaff’s have already been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation or MDL. These are being handled in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by Judge David A.Katz .

Seeking Justice

Filing a case on the 11th of October, 2011, Schaff claimed suffering from injuries brought about by a faulty DePuy ASR hip replacement system. He had his device implanted by November of 2009. Less than two years after, he required a revision surgery.

Schaff claimed he not only has suffered internally but also externally because of the implant. The lawsuit alleged further DePuy’s “careless and negligent acts”. This has come to include improperly designing implant.

Added to this, said manufacturer had fraudulently marketed the ASR device, branding it safe and effective. On the contrary, plaintiff has suffered "great pain and anguish, both in mind and body, and will in the future continue to suffer," the lawsuit alleged.

A Pile of Negative Reviews

Many of the complications of DePuy ASR hip replacement systems have been attributed to their design. The New York Times, for example has reported that a number of orthopaedic specialists believed the ASR cup, which is shallower than most, is at the heart of the problem.

Making matters worse, is the Metal-on-Metal (MoM) complications that have come to plague most all-metal implants like the DePuy ASR systems. Of the thousands of complaints that has reached the FDA, DePuy accounts for 75 percent, the rest pertains to other hip implant manufacturers.

In reaction, the FDA has ordered a post-market surveillance studies last May 2011 to all device-makers. However, results will not be available until five years after.

No doubt, having to go through pain is frustrating. That is the reason why filing a DePuy hip lawsuit needs to done right and fast. Good thing that the internet through sites like rotlaw.com of the Rottenstein Law Group(RLG) has become an indispensable ally in this fight for justice.

The recall confirmed what Schaff has feared was the root of his ASR hip replacement miseries. Filing a hip lawsuit against DePuy is just a natural conclusion.