DePuy Pinnacle Hip Problems Result in Product Liability Lawsuit

A DePuy Pinnacle hip lawsuit has been filed by a Tennessee man who says that he had to have revision surgery to remove his implant after experiencing problems with the metal-on-metal hip replacement. 

The product liability complaint was filed on March 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee by Ira M. Campbell and his wife, Sherry Lynn, who allege that the artificial hip was defectively designed and that the manufacturers failed to warn about the potential risk of DePuy Pinnacle hip problems.

According to the lawsuit, Campbell had the metal-on-metal hip system implanted on May 21, 2009. He had it for less than a year before it failed, requiring surgery to remove the device on April 6, 2010, although he claims that the artificial hip system should have lasted for up to a decade.

After Campbell received his DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement, the acetabular component of the left hip loosened due to friction and natural biologic corrosion, causing severe pain in his hip. Even after having the allegedly defective hip system replaced, Campbell alleges that problems from the DePuy Pinnacle hip have left him with permanent injuries, including ligament damage to his left knee and loss of muscle mass and strength, which has left him unable to walk without the use of a cane.

Campbell is one of a growing number of hip patients who have contacted a lawyer over DePuy Pinnacle problems, and several other lawsuits have already been filed in courts throughout the United States.

According to allegations raised in many of the suits, design defects cause an increased risk of problems from microscopic metal particles that are shed from the DePuy Pinnacle hip implant when parts of the metal-on-metal hip system rub against each other. This may increase the risk of metallosis, biologic toxicity and lead to a high failure rate.

DePuy Orthopaedics, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, faces a number of similar lawsuits over their DePuy ASR hip, which is another metal-on-metal design. A DePuy ASR hip recall was issued in August 2010, after post-marketing data confirmed that the hip design was associated with a failure rate of 12% to 13% within 5 years. However, more recent estimates suggest that nearly half of recalled DePuy ASR hip replacements may lead to problems within six years, requiring people to undergo risky revision surgery.

Over the past year, concerns about metal-on-metal hip replacements have been growing. In October, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) issued a warning about potential problems with metal on-metal hip replacements, indicating that patients and the medical community should be aware that pain months after hip replacement surgery may be a sign of metal-on-metal hip cobalt toxicity. In addition, the FDA launched a new website last month to provide information about the risks associated with metal-on-metal hip replacements.

Although a DePuy Pinnacle hip recall has not been issued, Campbell alleges that reported problems with the hip design should have caused the manufacturer to recall the product, like they did with the ASR hip implant.