How Badly Has the DePuy Hip Recall Hurt Johnson & Johnson?

Helena, MTLawsuits may be piling up against Johnson & Johnson following their DePuy hip replacement recall, but it is an article in Bloomberg Businessweek that just might have people talking. The DePuy hip recall was announced after reports of an unexpectedly high failure rate in the hips, leaving patients at risk of DePuy hip revision surgery. But the Bloomberg Businessweek article notes that the hip replacement recall, along with other recent recalls, has some people doubting the quality of Johnson & Johnson products.

The article, published online 03/31/11, cites Lance Corporal Cody Perkins, who was injured by a roadside bomb. In 2006, Perkins was given a DePuy ASR XL Acetabular System and was able to return to work. By 2009, according to the report, Perkins experienced pain in his hip. His doctor told him he would need revision surgery, in which the hip replacement device is itself replaced with a different implant.

Revision surgery often has an increased risk of complications, including infections and further dislocations. Patients typically expect that their hip replacement will last for 15 to 20 years, meaning it can be decades before they require revision surgery following a first implant. With the DePuy hip replacements, some patients have reportedly experienced failure of the device and the resulting revision surgery within five years of implantation.

As a result, patients have filed lawsuits alleging the DePuy hip devices have an unreasonably high failure rate due to defective design. A recall was announced in August 2010, after data was released indicating that within five years more than 10 percent of the hip implants were failing.

But according to information from the British Orthopaedic Association and the British Hip Society, the failure rate might be much higher than that. Preliminary data from the organizations, based on information from four surgeons, suggests that the failure rate is closer to 20 percent after four years and runs up to 49 percent after six years. That means that after six years, almost half the implants have reportedly failed.

At issue is the design of the implants, which involves metal-on-metal construction. That metal can cause debris to come loose from the device and be absorbed by the patient's tissue, causing tissue death and metallosis.

Lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson seek damages for lost wages and medical costs. In addition to allegations about the defective design of the DePuy hip implant are allegations that Johnson & Johnson continued marketing the DePuy replacements despite increasing evidence that they were failing.