The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has entered a judgment in case that went to trial over DePuy’s Pinnacle hip implant. According a recent court order, a judgment was entered nearly two years after the jury found for the defendants in October 2014. “Any relief not expressly granted herein is denied.” […]
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has entered a judgment in case that went to trial over DePuy’s Pinnacle hip implant. According a recent court order, a judgment was entered nearly two years after the jury found for the defendants in October 2014. “Any relief not expressly granted herein is denied.” the court stated. “This is a final judgment with respect to all claims and parties.” The lawsuit was the first of thousands to go trial, with plaintiffs alleging that the metal-on-metal version of the Pinnacle hip implant caused injuries.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit was a Montana woman who alleged that her bilateral Pinnacle hip implants caused severe pain and other complications. She was implanted with the devices in 2009, and felt severe pain afterwards, the suit alleges. After 8 weeks of trial, the jury found for the defendants.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff’s physician determined that the hip implants were releasing dangerously high levels of cobalt and chromium into her blood stream. The level of cobalt in her blood was 85 times higher than normal, test results showed. Her doctors concluded that her implants had failed, and opted for revision surgery. She underwent several operations in an attempt to correct her health problems, the suit states.
At trial, DePuy said that the injuries stemmed from the device being improperly implanted and not from design defects. Lawyers for DePuy argued that the Pinnacle was different from the ASR hip implant, which was the subject of a worldwide recall in 2010 due to a high failure rate. Thousands of lawsuits were filed over the ASR hip implant, and most were settled in 2013.