Many recent law suits have been filed against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) for its hip replacements. In fact, more than one thousand lawsuits have been filed against the Philadelphia area company according to reports. The number of cases has actually become so large that the FDA’s interest has been peaked.
According to one May 11th report, the US Food and Drug Administration asked Johnson & Johnson as well as 20 other replacement part makers to conduct a study to find out whether its hip implants raise the level of metal in patients’ blood to dangerous levels.
Could hip replacements be putting patients in Philadelphia and all over the world at risk? Recently several patients who underwent a hip replacement surgery and received a DePuy hip replacement system have complained of symptoms including swelling and problems walking nearing the five year mark after their surgery.
The worldwide hip replacement market is a huge one and one that is expected to grow by at least 3.2% this year from 5.28 billion in 2010. According to an FDA statement, “a small number of patients in which high levels of metal ions in the bloodstream may have caused other types of symptoms or illnesses elsewhere in the body, including effects on the heart, nervous system, and thyroid gland.”
If studies do end up showing the DePuy hip replacement and other hip replacement systems elevate the metal levels in the blood to toxic levels, post surgical patients will learn that they may have been the victim of medical malpractice or that they may have a serious product liability case on their hands.
If you or a loved one has suspects they have suffered injury due to a bad hip replacement or a dangerous surgical procedure, contact www.thepearcelawfirm.com or a Pennsylvania malpractice lawyer right away.