The recall made on two of DePuy's hip replacement devices were found by many to have been announced too late. Since 2008, the United States Food and Drugs Association received over 300 reports of how the implants adversely affected those who have received one of either ASR XL Acetabular System and ASR Hip Resurfacing System. The Australian National Joint Replacement Registry was the first to reveal that the ASR implants have a high failure rate compared to industry standard. Despite these, DePuy still didn't take immediate appropriate action to address the issue. It wasn't until the National Joint Registry for England and Wales showed data regarding the devices' failure rate that the company finally announced the DePuy hip replacement recall.
DePuy's ASR devices have failed due to “edge-loading,” meaning friction between the metal components causes bits of chromium and cobalt ions to flake off the implant and affect surrounding tissue. When this happens, the bone surrounding the device gets weakened, fractured and/or broken. This series of events is grounds for an affected recipient to file for a product liability lawsuit against DePuy.
In a product liability lawsuit, a plaintiff would need to establish that the defendant's product has harmed him or her through (a) a design defect, (b) manufacturing defect, or (c) failing to warn consumers of latent dangers the product causes. DePuy not adequately testing the ASRs can be a legal basis for a plaintiff to carry out a successful design defect case. For failure-to-warn cases, the plaintiff must show DePuy knew of the products’ defects but failed to initiate the recall in a timely manner.
You may likely want to consider filing a product liability lawsuit against DePuy if you have been implanted with an ASR device and is experiencing the troubles the implants bring. Contact a lawyer now to ensure your rights and interests are protected as well as increase your chances of recovering fair compensatiob. Visit the DePuy hip recall information center today.
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