New DePuy Claim Filed

The Searcy Denney Mass Tort Unit filed yet another individual lawsuit this week on behalf of a Florida DePuy ASR hip implant victim. This claim was filed on behalf of a Sebring resident who was implanted with bilateral recalled DePuy ASR implants in 2007 at Highlands Regional Medical Center. This plaintiff has undergone numerous procedures and evaluations after being diagnosed with a failed DePuy ASR implant and is facing additional surgeries in the future.

The DePuy ASR hip implant line was recalled in August of 2010 after reports of an excessive number of product failures from other countries, where drug and medical device safety regulators do a much better job than the FDA at tracking the experiences of patients following implant surgeries. Sadly, medical device manufacturers have resisted efforts to create a national medical device registry in the United States for fear that such a system, if it worked well, would quickly shed light on inferior or defective implants and other medical products. This latest lawsuit was filed directly in the pending MDL proceedings in Toledo, which involve more than 4,000 lawsuits from around the country. Judge Katz will conduct his first trials against DePuy, a division of Johnson & Johnson, in May and July of next year.