Hip Implant Recipients Might Have More Time to File Lawsuits Against DePuy Than Previously Thought

Hip Implant Recipients Might Have More Time to File Lawsuits Against DePuy Than Previously Thought

In a product liability scenario such as the one mounting against DePuy, when the recipient of a defective hip implant begins a lawsuit is critically important. If one waits too long, then state laws, statute of limitations, will prevent a recipient from suing the company. In many instances, the "date of injury" determines when the statute of limitations begins. Often, they run out in 2-3 years. In many circumstances, the date of injury occurs when the faulty replacement hip is implanted in the recipient's body. Consequently, with the date of injury occurring on the date of the surgery, potential plaintiffs may have little time to file lawsuits against DePuy and may have to settle for compensation via DePuy's reimbursement plan, which is unlikely to provide as much as a lawsuit might. If the date of implant were the date of injury, many hip implant recipients' claims would be barred already. It doesn't help that the ASR XL Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System both entered the market in 2003, long before the 2010 recall.

There is good news, however: The harm caused by the defective DePuy replacement hip devices might be considered a "continuing tort" for as long as the defective device remains in a recipient's body. That is, the device is continually causing the recipient harm. The significance of this characterization is that applicable statutes of limitations might be constantly restarting, meaning that only the last one (which will begin if and when the recipient has revision surgery) will be the one that applies, giving a victim the maximum amount of time to start a lawsuit.

The benefits of such an interpretation cannot be underemphasized. For those who've had revision procedures long ago, their lawsuits may still see a courtroom. More importantly, those who still have their recalled DePuy hip implants inside of them have valid claims continuously because the statute of limitations renews itself daily. For these plaintiffs, maximal recovery is possible where none was possible had they received the implant many years earlier.

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