Jurors tasked with deciding the fate of the second lawsuit regarding the DePuy ASR metal on metal hip implant have begun deliberations, and the plaintiff’s attorney has asked for upwards of $5 million to be given to his client.
That client is a Chicago-area nurse who was implanted with the all-metal device back in 2008. After three years, the woman had to submit to a revision surgery because the device had failed. The plaintiff and her team allege that DePuy continued to market and sell the devices despite knowledge of its potentially defective design, a design which contributed to the failure of this particular device.
DePuy denies wrongdoing, instead claiming that the recipient’s health problems were to blame. It remains to be seen whether or not the jury will agree with that sentiment. Nearly 11,000 lawsuits are still in the works, and the first of those to reach trial ended with an $8.3 million jury decision for the plaintiff, who was represented by Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP.
At one point, the attorney for the Chicago plaintiff described the marketing and subsequent recall of the DePuy ASR XL as a public health disaster. In this instance, the plaintiff also apparently suffered from blackened tissue around the site. Coupled with heightened levels of metal ions in the blood, this could be indicative of the danger posed when the ASR sheds metal debris.