Patients Worldwide Adversely Affected by DePuy Hip Replacement Recall

Patients Worldwide Adversely Affected by DePuy Hip Replacement Recall

More than a month has passed since DePuy Orthopaedics issued a worldwide recall of two hip replacement devices, the ASR XL Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System. When DePuy announced the moveand effectively admitted the two products were defectivemany lawsuits were filed against the company by injured ASR recipients. In the coming months, this trend is expected to continue, if not increase drastically.

While most of the lawsuits against DePuy thus far have been filed by United States residents, it should be pointed out that the recall is worldwide. This means patients outside of the United States will also be affected by the recall and apt to take legal action against DePuy.

In fact, there are already examples of this. Bob Lugton, a 66 year old resident of Brisbane, Australia, has reported extremely high cobalt levels in his blood, the result of metal fragments that were leaked from his defective ASR hip. His health suffered severely as a result and he is scheduled to undergo a second hip replacement surgery (known as a revision surgery) to alleviate his suffering. In September, Mr. Lugton became the first Australian to join a U.S. lawsuit against DePuy. He probably won't be the last, however. An estimated 5,000 Australian patients received an ASR hip replacement device, and approximately 700 of them could be adversely affected by the recall.

In Ireland, more than 5,500 people have been implanted with a recalled ASR device. According to the Irish Times, the Irish Medicines Board has received 12 reports of ASR-related problems since 2004. It is estimated that as many as 400 Irish patients may need to undergo revision surgery. Although none of them have initiated lawsuits against DePuy or joined ongoing ASR lawsuits in the United States, both are strong possibilities moving forward.

With 93,000 ASR recipients worldwide, DePuy has most likely only seen the tip of a litigation iceberg. Modest estimates put the number of patients who will require revision surgery at 10,000, though the final tally could be much higher.

No matter where you live, if you were implanted with a defective ASR unit, you should contact your doctor to schedule testing on your implant. Only after a full medical evaluation can your doctor determine if you require revision surgery. Putting off the necessary testing could not only negatively impact your health, but it could also put you at a legal disadvantage if you decide to file a DePuy ASR lawsuit. There is limited time to file a claim against DePuy. Once a statute of limitations expires, your claim could be lost forever.

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