DePuy Hip Replacement Trial: Jury Deliberations Continue

This is part of an ongoing series we’ve reported on for the Depuy Hip Replacement.  Bisnar|Chase has filed and is currently litigating these types of hip replacement failure lawsuits.

A Los Angeles jury is continuing to deliberate on a product liability lawsuit filed by Loren Kransky, which alleges that he suffered metal poisoning and other complications from Johnson & Johnson’s ASR XL metal hip implant, manufactured by J & J subsidiary, DePuy Orthopedics.

According to a news report in the Los Angeles Times, an attorney for Kransky stated during closing arguments that J & J played “Russian roulette” with patient safety when it ignored high failure rates and surgeons’ complaints with regard to the metal hips.

Both sides presented their arguments to jurors before the jury began deliberating. The plaintiff’s attorney said J & J knew that these medical devices were defective and were likely to fail earlier than expected, long before Kransky received his metal implant. He argued that the company put profits ahead of patient safety and took the gamble.

J & J attorneys argued that Kransky’s health problems were not due to the metal implant, but because of his diabetes, kidney cancer and other medical issues that had nothing to do with the artificial hip.

 Extremely High Failure Rates

 The New Brunswick-based company recalled 93,000 ASR artificial hips in 2010 after they were linked to higher-than-expected failure rates. Federal officials launched an investigation last week into the manner in which J & J marketed these hip replacements. Kransky’s is the first of several thousand metal hip lawsuits to reach trial nationwide. The jury got the case Thursday and began deliberating Friday.

The plaintiff’s attorneys have suggested that jurors award Kransky $5 million for his pain and suffering and up to $179 million in punitive damages against the company. The judge unsealed documents in connection with this case, which showed that J & J was aware of its product’s high failure rates. The company’s own internal review showed high failure rates. An Australian registry showed a 44 percent hip failure rate among patients in that country.

An internal DePuy analysis in 2011, a year after the recall, estimated that 37 percent of patients who received the implants had to have it replaced within five years. Like Kransky, tens of thousands of patients have reported that they suffer from constant pain and that metal poisoning from the implants caused serious health problems and complications.

 Protecting Consumers’ Rights

I hope the jury sees the abundance of evidence in this case that J & J not only defectively designed the ASR metal hip implants, but also knew about these defects and failed to warn consumers of the dangers.

Anyone who has received these implants and experiences symptoms such as pain, swelling, difficulty walking or popping or creaking sounds from the area of the implant would be well advised to talk to their doctor.  If you have suffered significant complications and have had to undergo revision surgery, it would also be in your best interest to consult with a DePuy hip implant lawyer to obtain more information about pursuing your legal rights.