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The failure of certain all-metal hip replacement devices may add up to billions of dollars in costs for taxpayers, insurers, employers and others, according to an article published in The New York Times on Dec. 28.
The news comes at a time when personal injury lawyers are reviewing complaints by hip implant patients who needed a second hip replacement procedure, known as revisionary surgery, due to defects in devices manufactured by DePuy Orthopedics Inc. Attorneys say lawsuits have been filed by people who have been affected by DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System and DePuy ASR XL Acetabular System.
The New York Times article describes the case of a hip replacement patient who needed to undergo an operation to replace a failed artificial hip. According to the Times, Thomas Dougherty faced more than $400,000 in charges related to hospitalizations and nearly $30,000 in doctors’ bills after a replacement hip operation. His pelvis fractured shortly after the procedure, and he needed to abandon the replacement hip, which resulted in a serious infection. See: When Surgery is Required found on renowned Dallas personal injury attorney David Glenn's website.
Some metal-on-metal hip replacement devices are failing earlier than expected, according to the National Joint Registry (NJR) or England and Wales. The NJR found a five-year revision rate of about 12 percent for the ASR Hip Resurfacing System and about 13 percent for the ASR XL Acetabular System. Most artificial joints last about 15 years, according to the New York Times.
Hip replacement lawsuits have cited that the wear of metal parts against each other has generated debris that causes damage to tissue. Dr. Art Sedrakyan, a researcher at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, told the New York Times that tens of thousands of patients with hip replacement implants may have to undergo revision operations over the next decade.
The New York Times article says more than 5,000 lawsuits related to the hip replacement failure have been filed against makers of all-metal replacement hips.
A product liability lawyer told the New York Times that insurance companies are covering bills but will want to be paid back. Patients may have to retain personal injury attorneys to sue their doctors or the companies that produce the artificial hip.
Some of the device manufacturers are covering the costs related to hip replacement problems by working with patients and insurers, according to the Times.
Lawyers have helped some patients with compensation issues related to lawsuits and device makers, but The New York Times article reports that some patients are paying some expenses out of their own pockets.
“Patients affected by a failing hip replacement should not have to pay out of their own pockets,” one lawyer said. “It’s a good idea for people who are dealing with problems related to a hip replacement to contact a product liability attorney who can evaluate a potential claim.”
