Hip replacement lawsuits are not a new thing. Since 2002, manufacturers of hip replacement products have paid more than $7 billion for settling lawsuits.
Although most lawsuits related to metal-on-metal hip implants were settled, there were still thousands of them that are pending as of July 2019.
Most big hip replacement actions involve metal-on-metal designs. The hip replacements should be more durable, but lawsuits claim the devices emitted microscopic amounts of chromium, cobalt, or other metals into the body.
Patients suffered a condition called metallosis, which, with time, destroys the bone, muscle, and other tissues. The condition will weaken the implant, which eventually will fail.
Metal-on-metal implants came to prominence in the 2000s, but a large number of complaints showed that they were not so good of a choice. There were many hip replacement lawsuits, recalls, and FDA actions.
Metal-On-Metal Hip Replacements
Hip joint degeneration is a common disease that causes pain, stiffness, or problems with walking. When these symptoms cannot be treated with conventional treatments like physical therapy, patients are advised to get a total hip replacement. This procedure means getting a “metal-on-metal” hip implant in which the ball and socket of the implant are both made of metal. The metal should deliver smoother movement, less friction, and better durability.
The main risk is wearing down of the main material which later loosens the implant, cobalt, and chromium entering the bloodstream, parts of the implants breaking into the bone, muscle or tissue around the implant, pain, nerve damage, muscle and bone damage.
Hip Replacement Side Effects
Thousands of patients who underwent metal-on-metal hip replacements surgeries have reported issues with the implants.
Faulty implants cause severe complications, such as the following:
- Increased toxicity (chromium and cobalt) in the body because of the implant
- Necrosis (early death of body tissue) or soft tissue damage due to exposure to metal particles
- Fractured hip bone
- Pain in the implant area
- Infection
- Clicking, grinding or popping in the area of the hip implant
- Premature failure of the hip replacement
- Metallosis
- Loosening and slow breakdown
- Tissue inflammation
- Fluid collections
- Cystic or solid masses around the joint
Hip Replacement Lawsuits
Thousands of patients claim hip implant manufacturers made faulty products and did not warn the users about the risks. Metal-on-metal hip implant lawsuits are growing every day because plaintiffs claim the implants caused many complications that made patients undergo painful surgeries to correct problems and replace the implants.
In such a case, the patient should file product liability or wrongful injury lawsuits. Hip implant manufacturers claimed their implants are entirely safe and efficient. No matter what the manufacturers claim, the devices did not show the effectiveness and caused a series of injuries. People who filed hip replacement lawsuits claimed they suffered unexpected complications or device failure before the expected life of the implant (10 and 15 years).
Hip replacement manufacturers have a legal duty to design, manufacture, and test the safety of their devices. They are also responsible for creating accurate products and warning people about potential health risks associated with their devices. When companies don’t warn the patients or design faulty products, the patients who suffer from their negligence should file a compensation claim for their injuries.
If you have an issue with a faulty hip replacement implant, you perhaps want to file a lawsuit against the manufacturer. Keep in mind that such cases have a statute of limitations. Mainly it will start from the moment you discovered your injuries. In hip replacement cases, it usually takes a few years to notice that something is not right with the implant. Once you start to feel pain and discomfort, it is time to check whether the implant is broken. The statute of limitations in such lawsuits is three years from the date you find out you were injured. In case it takes longer than three years to discover the injury, you have only one year from the date of discovery.
Call our office today and schedule your first consultation. Our team of attorneys will answer every question you have and help you file the lawsuit.
We offer the initial consultation entirely free. You owe us nothing unless we win your case.
