The first trial for Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy ASR hip implant is underway and evidence suggests that the manufacturing giant did indeed know of the risks and complications associated with their metal-on-metal hip implant devices. In fact, a graphic PowerPoint presentation during the California trial pointed out that the company knew of these threats as early as 2007. This presentation was previously presented at a company conference where Johnson & Johnson specifically state that metal-on-metal public backlash was a “threat” to the company.
The presentation was offered as evidence that the pharmaceutical company did indeed know of the dangers associated with their metal-on-metal hip implants, yet chose not to inform the general public until 3 years later when DePuy issued a recall of its ASR XL total hip implant. This PowerPoint presentation was initially presented at a meeting of DePuy’s world-wide hip business team in 2007. Some of the slides presented during that meeting included slides that said “What scares us most in the year ahead? —Metal ion backlash” and “Negative publications on metal ions”. Unfortunately, at the end of the presentation DePuy also mentioned that the ASR XL metal-on-metal hip implant device was the device with the highest sales price of any other DePuy hip product and this may be the core reason why DePuy chose not to pull its defective hip implant from the market.
The Case Against DePuy
This California trial is the first to take place against the DePuy ASR XL metal-on-metal hip implant and it was expedited because the Plaintiff is dying of cancer. Loren Kransky is a 65-year-old prison guard who received the implant in 2007. 5 years later he was forced to have a revision because of the elevated Cobalt and Chromium in his blood, even though surgeons feared that he would not live through the surgery.
“I was convinced Mr. Kransky would die from toxicity if the hip weren’t removed.” –Dr. Trotsky, surgeon
DePuy Hip Recall Lawsuit Attorneys
At Phillips Law Firm, our national defective device attorneys understand the complexities surrounding multi-district litigation cases and defective medical products. We also know the pain and suffering that these devices have caused and will fight aggressively to ensure that all of our clients receive the compensation to which they are entitled. If you have been injured by a metal-on-metal hip implant, contact our offices to see if you qualify to file a lawsuit. Call us today at 1-800-708-6000.