Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Orthopedics is facing a metal hip replacement lawsuit filed by a Pennsylvania woman who alleges the metal-on-metal hip implant failed and caused her extreme pain and suffering.

Plaintiff Barbara Ebbert-Giordano, 60, was implanted with DePuy’s ASR Acetabular Cup System in her right hip on Aug. 15, 2008, and received a left hip implant three months later. Almost immediately after the dual hip implantations, Ebbert-Giordano reportedly began to suffer several complications as a result of the DePuy product, her metal-on-metal hip implant lawsuit says. Her DePuy metal hip implant lawsuit alleges that she has suffered, and is at risk of suffering, a variety of complications including “tissue necrosis and inflammation; metallosis; loosening of the prosthesis; chromium and cobalt toxicity and complications.”

Ebbert-Giordano has scheduled removal and replacement hip implant surgery, according to her metal-on-metal hip implant lawsuit, which accuses DePuy of negligence, product liability issues, misrepresentation, and loss of consortium.

The DePuy Metal Hip Replacement Lawsuit is Ebbert-Giordano v. DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., et al., filed into In re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2197, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Background on ASR Metal Hip Replacements

The ASR Acetabular Cup System, which is designed, manufactured, and sold by J&J’s subsidiary DePuy, is a metal-on-metal hip implant system. DePuy received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the ASR hip implant system in 2005 and began aggressively marketing and selling the product soon after. Only a few months after its introduction, reports of the ASR metal hip implant failing began to surface.

From 2006 through 2009, more than 600 individual reports were reportedly submitted to the FDA concerning the high rate of failure of ASR hip implants. In many cases, the hip implants failed within a few years of implantation, while traditional hip implants are designed to last for at least a decade. DePuy recalled the ASR hip implant systems in 2010 and advised patients to contact their physicians and surgeons to have the DePuy product removed even if they were not experiencing any pain or complications.

According to a report distributed in conjunction with the recall, the ASR metal hip replacement was likely to fail 13 percent of the time. A more recent report submitted to the FDA estimates that DePuy’s ASR hip implant system is likely to fail 35 to 45 percent of the time. That rate is said to be higher in female patients with small bone structures and weak bones.

ASR Metal Hip Implant Side Effects

The high rate of failure of the ASR Metal Hip Implant System lies in the product’s design, according to DePuy hip implant lawsuits. The hip implant’s shape is difficult for surgeons to place at the proper angle for efficient hip support. When the ASR metal hip implant fails, small metal particles can break off from the product and cause patients inflammation and extreme pain.

Some complications of failed ASR Metal Hip Implant Systems include:

• Hip failure
• Hip pain and discomfort
• Random loosening of ASR Hip Implant
• Inflammation in surrounding hip tissue

Additional surgery may be required to remove and replace the DePuy ASR hip implant. However, even after the hip implant is removed, a patient may continue to suffer severe pain and discomfort.