DePuy Orthopedics issued a recall for it's orthopedic hip replacements in August 2010. DePuy is a medical device company that manufacturers hip replacements for the Orthopedic industry. The DePuy ASR XL Acetabular System or the DePuy ASR Resurfacing System are two DePuy hip replacement models that have been recalled and are considered defective due the their rates of failure. DePuy Orthopedics was acquired by the well-known parent company Johnson & Johnson in 1998.
The recall was issued due to the high revision rate of both devices and some sources estimated that as many as 10,000 patients in the U.S. may need a corrective surgery. DePuy declared a 12% revision rate for patients implanted with their DePuy ASR Resurfacing System and a 13% revision rate for patients implanted with their DePuy ASR XL Acetabular System. Revision rate refers to surgery needed to remove and replace the hip replacement device, with another hip replacement device.
The British Orthopedic Association has said that their data suggests a much higher revision rate for the ASR XL device of 21% after four years and 49% after 6 years.
This hip recall has impacted the lives of many patients who have been implanted with these devices. This data indicates that patients who have had hip replacements as far back as 2003 could be affected by the DuPuy recall. Reports indicate that there are over 90,000 patients worldwide who have been implanted with one of these DuPuy devices.
It is very important for anyone who believes that they may have received a DePuy hip implant device to contact an experienced attorney for legal advice to help determine whether the implant they received is a defective medical device, and how to ensure that they are adequately compensated by the manufacturer of a defective hip replacement system.
Most states have time limits that will not allow patients to be legally compensated by the manufacturers of the faulty hip replacement systems after the statute of limitations has expired. Contacting an attorney in your area may the best way to ensure that your filing deadline does not expire prior to deciding if legal action is the best course.
DePuy hip replacement patients may not realize that there is a problem with their hip replacement device because pain is not always present in defective DePuy hip replacement systems. Even if your hip replacement is not causing you pain your doctor may still recommend your DePuy device be removed and replaced with another hip replacement device before a failure causes more problems than a replacement surgery.
The failure of these medical devices has been called by some experts one the largest disaster in the history of the orthopedic industry. Many experts believe that the manufacturer did not properly design the device and that DePuy failed to properly test the device before releasing it to the public.
If you think you may have been injured by a DePuy hip replacement device, or you are concerned that your DePuy hip replacement device will fail, a lawyer at Angel Law, P.C. can help you get the answers that you need, and pursue the compensation that you are entitled to for being injured by a recalled DePuy hip replacement device. Contact Angel Law in Portland Oregon now for a consultation at no charge.