Major Coverage of Injuries Caused by the Defective DePuy ASR Hip Implant
In March 2010, New York Times reporter Barry Meier wrote three articles discussing problems with metal-on-metal cups, particularly DePuy's ASR cup. While the first two focused on the increased risk of metallic ion release created by metal-on-metal implants, the third honed in on the shortcomings of DePuy's ASR cup.
In his third article, dated March 9, 2010, Mr. Meier wrote of a letter DePuy had recently sent to surgeons, telling them that government statistics were showing that the ASR cup failed at higher than expected rates. About a week later, DePuy sent surgeons another letter, addressing Mr. Meier's article, but again acknowledging the ASR's higher than average failure rate. In the second letter, DePuy stated that statistics showed a failure rate of up to 8-9%. At the time of the recall on the device in August 2010, DePuy acknowledged that the actual failure rate reached 12-13%.
Meier's articles were the first to openly discuss the problems presented by the DePuy ASR acetabular cup. Hip implants are expected to last 15 years or longer, but the DePuy ASR defect complaints reveal a higher failure rate within only a few years of ASR system implantation. The article also noted that DePuy actually decided in late 2009 to take the DePuy ASR acetabular cup off the market, purportedly due to "slowing sales." The timing, of course, suggests otherwise: the DePuy ASR device was defective, and harming patients.
If you received an ASR hip implant and are experiencing problems, you may qualify for compensation for physical damage, additional surgeries and your pain and suffering. Do not contact DePuy Orthopaedics or Johnson & Johnson without first talking to an attorney with experience handling defective medical device cases nationwide. It's important that you understand your rights. Call the law office of Walkup Melodia toll-free at (888) 799-3968, or contact us online. We handle DePuy ASR hip implant lawsuits in California and nationwide.
