Texas DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip Trial

Texas DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip Trial. The DePuy Pinnacle hip failure trials are restarting in September with the fourth bellwether trial involving the allegedly defective DePuy Pinnacle metal on metal hip replacement system.

Texas DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip Trial

The Texas DePuy Pinnacle hip failure trials are restarting in September with the fourth bellwether trial involving the allegedly defective DePuy Pinnacle metal on metal hip replacement system. DePuy is under fire over its Pinnacle/Ultamet line of metal hip devices causing metal poisoning and premature failure according to lawsuits.

DePuy Pinnacle Hip Multidistrict Litigation

In May 2011, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation centralized pretrial proceedings in the cases before Judge Kinkeade in the in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation.

The Texas federal court has more than 9,000 hip implant lawsuits, involving the DePuy Orthopaedics’ Pinnacle Hip Replacement system that uses the metal Ultamet liner.

The court’s upcoming bellwether trial is set to start September 5th and will involve product liability and personal injury claims filed on behalf of seven Pinnacle hip patients from New Jersey and New York.

What is the problem with the DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement system?

Metal-on-metal (MOM) hip implants consist of a ball, stem and shell, all made from cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloys. MOM hip implants were introduced in the 1990s, and the implants were touted as a better durable option for younger, active patients.

Over the past several years medical studies have found that some all-metal implants can release dangerous amounts of toxic cobalt and chromium metal ions particles locally into the hip joint and the blood stream, causing severe local tissue reactions and premature failure complications that require painful revision surgery to remove and replace the implant. This metallic debris causes the medical condition known as metallosis.

A recent article in the British Medical Journal suggested the various hip manufacturers should bear the cost and burden of monitoring patients who underwent MOM implants and pay for the replacement of the failing devices.

Why won’t DePuy announce a recall over its Pinnacle/Ultamet liner system?

This is not the first ride at the rodeo for Johnson and Johnson and its subsidiary DePuy, the makers of the Pinnacle/Ultamet liner system.

DePuy announced a global hip replacement recall for its ASR line of metal implants in August 2010, after worldwide reports of metallosis and premature hip failure. Johnson & Johnson in 2013 had agreed to pay at least $2.5 billion to settle more than 9,000 lawsuits over DePuy ASR hip replacements, which feature a metal-on-metal design that has been described as a “substantial equivalent” to the Pinnacle hip

Since the premature failure and metal toxicity rates are similar between the two implant designs, many folks now question why the company has not taken similar action in regards to the Pinnacle/Ultamet liner combination. Cynics point to the billions of dollars that Johnson and Johnson have made in profits from the DePuy Pinnacle line of implants as being the motivating factor.

DePuy Pinnacle Verdicts

The first Texas DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip Trial in 2014 ended with a win for the defense.

In the second Texas DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip Trial in 2016, the five plaintiffs were awarded a total of $500 million. The jury award was reduced to $151 million, in order to comply with Texas law governing punitive damages.

In the third bellwether trial in 2017 the six damaged Pinnacle patients were awarded more than $1 billion. That judgment was later reduced to $543 million.

 

Injured by a failed DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip?

If you think you may have a DePuy Pinnacle Metal Hip and are experiencing pain caused by metal corrosion or have suffered a hip failure requiring full revision and emergency care, please call Dr. Shezad Malik Law Firm at 214-390-3189.