Jacksonville Hip Replacement Recall Attorney

Hip Replacement Lawsuits

Several Florida residents turn to hip replacement orthopedic surgery to alleviate arthritis pain or fix serious physical joint damage. In what can be an invasive procedure, a hip replacement requires the hip joint to be replaced by a prosthetic implant. Medical devices such as hip joint implants that turn out to be defective or poorly designed can cause a patient to endure significant pain, difficulty walking, infection, and other ailments. When such mishaps occur due to a medical device manufacturer’s negligence or oversight, Florida hip replacement product defect lawyers can help protect the rights of patients and obtain compensation on their behalf.

Johnson & Johnson Artificial Hip Joint Implant Recall

As a company that many doctors and patients have trusted for decades, Johnson & Johnson’s artificial joint business, DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., announced the recall of two hip replacement products, ASR Hip Resurfacing System and the ASR XL Acetabular System, on August 26, 2010.

Hip replacement implants are expected to be properly designed and manufactured so as not to cause harm to patients or create a need for additional surgery or medical care. However, after data revealed a higher-than-normal rate of patients requiring a second hip replacement procedure after five years of receiving their first, DePuy Orthopaedics issued the recall of the two hip replacement products.

DePuy reported that data from the National Joint Registry of England and Wales reveals that within a span of five years, approximately 12% of individuals receiving the hip resurfacing system, and approximately 13% of patients receiving the acetabular system required corrective surgery. In determining that one in eight patients who received the Johnson & Johnson hip joint replacement needed to have their implants replaced in a revision surgery within five years of having their first operation, data also showed that women were more susceptible to needing corrective surgery than men.

The acetabular hip implant system was introduced in 2004 and has been distributed worldwide; however, the resurfacing system was put on the market in 2003 and has been sold only outside of the United States. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., sold approximately 93,000 of the implant devices and has stated that it is taking what few hip replacement products are left off the market. While the company has said that it will pay for the cost of doctor visits, procedures, and tests associated with the recall, some individuals may require compensation that goes beyond what DePuy deems appropriate.

The high failure rate of the hip-repair implants has raised concern over the quality of Johnson & Johnson products since surgeons have needed to replace the devices at a rate of more than twice the industry’s standard of replacement surgeries. Surgical procedures required to implant medical devices have enough potential risks for a patient without the chances of the implant failing or being defective factoring in.

Call The Jacksonville Hip Replacement Recall Attorneys at Farah & Farah Today at 877-245-6707

If you or someone you love has experienced difficulty walking, pain, infection, swelling, or any other serious ailment after having a hip replacement with a Johnson & Johnson implant, you may have a viable product liability claim. The Jacksonville defective medical device attorneys at Farah & Farah are committed to helping those adversely affected by recalled Johnson & Johnson hip joint implants. Contact us at 877-245-6707 today for more information about your legal options.

For more information, please read The Wall Street Journal J&J Recall article.