DePuy Pinnacle Lawsuit
(Hip Implant)
Problem summary
DePuy Pinnacle hip implants have been the subject of thousands of product liability lawsuits filed in state and federal courts by individuals who suffered serious complications due to premature failure of the prosthetic hips. The controversy surrounding the DePuy Pinnacle hip implant centers around its controversial metal-on-metal design. Once believed to provide increased durability and longevity over older ceramic and polyethylene devices, recent research has shown that metal-on-metal hip implants can cause serious complications as the metal ball and socket rub together during normal wear and tear, causing corrosion, bone and tissue erosion, and the shedding of toxic metal particles into the bloodstream. Although the Pinnacle hips were not part of the massive DePuy ASR hip implant recall in 2010, they are metal-on-metal devices, just like the recalled ASR devices, and many recipients of the Pinnacle implants have also had to undergo painful revision surgeries to replace failed devices.
About DePuy Pinnacle Hips
The Pinnacle hip implant is a total hip replacement system manufactured by Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Orthopaedics subsidiary and approved by the FDA in 2000. The Pinnacle implant was the predecessor to DePuy’s ASR XL Acetabular System and ASR Hip Resurfacing System, both of which were recalled in 2010, due to a higher than expected rate of early failure, and approximately 150,000 Pinnacle hips were manufactured before the company halted production in 2013. The Pinnacle prosthetic hip features a modular cup design intended to reduce pain and improve mobility and range of motion in patients with hip joints damaged by severe arthritis or traumatic injury. These hip implants are designed to last 15 years or more, but instead, are failing within just a few years of being implanted.
A total hip replacement is a procedure that involves replacing diseased or damaged cartilage and bone in the hip joint with a prosthetic device, like DePuy’s Pinnacle hip. The procedure is intended to reduce pain and improve mobility in patients with damaged hip joints, particularly younger, more active patients. However, like patients implanted with the recalled DePuy ASR hip system, it appears that those who received a Pinnacle hip replacement system also face an increased risk of device failure due to design defects that can cause severe pain and dislocation of the implant, among other complications. DePuy Orthopaedics has yet to issue a Pinnacle hip implant recall, but the company did stop selling the device in the United States in 2013.
Since the medical device first entered the market via the FDA’s controversial 510(k) fast-track approval process, which allows medical devices to enter the market without being tested, DePuy has defended the safety of its Pinnacle hip implant, once known as the company’s “Billion Dollar Baby.” However, a growing body of research has highlighted the potential risks of metal-on-metal hip devices, indicating that patients implanted with these prosthetic hips may face an increased risk of premature hip implant failure and debilitating complications requiring risky revision surgery. In one 2015 study of more than 351 patients with metal-on-metal hip implants, researchers found that 35% of patients reported pain at 30 months post-surgery and also showed significantly higher chromium and cobalt blood levels. Additionally, one in five patients (19%) required revision surgery to remove or replace failed hip implants.
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DePuy Pinnacle Hip Injuries
- Persistent pain
- Difficulty walking or standing
- Hip implant loosening
- Premature implant failure
- Dislocation of the hip joint
- Swelling around the joint
- Infection
- Need for revision surgery
- Tissue death
- Loss of mobility
- Bone erosion
- Organ damage
- Pseudotumors
- Bone fractures
- Metallosis (metal blood poisoning)
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DePuy Pinnacle Settlements & Litigation
Although the Pinnacle hip implant has not been subjected to a recall, like DePuy’s similar ASR hip replacement system was in 2010, patients with metal-on-metal Pinnacle hips may still have a claim against DePuy Orthopaedics and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson. Nationwide, more than 10,000 Pinnacle hip implant lawsuits have been filed against J&J and DePuy, and the medical device makers have already been ordered to pay verdicts of $543 million and $247 million in cases involving injuries from allegedly defective Pinnacle hip devices. Product liability lawsuits filed in courts across the country allege that the all-metal Pinnacle hip implant is substantially similar in design to the recalled ASR device and therefore exposes patients to the same types of complications that prompted the 2010 DePuy ASR hip implant recall. Plaintiffs involved in the Pinnacle hip litigation accuse J&J and DePuy of manufacturing a defective product, one that puts patients at risk for failure within just a few years of their initial hip replacement surgery.
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