Hip replacement is one of the most common procedures in the U.S with an estimated 500,000 metal-on-metal hip replacement device implanted on patients. According to the DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., some 93,000 patients worldwide have used its ASR hip replacement systems, which became the subject of a high-profile recall initiated August of last year. Many more complaints are looming for the procedure with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) saying that based on medical studies, a growing number of patients have experienced pain within less than a year of having a hip replacement. With the lawsuits filed already consolidated into a multidistrict litigation, direct filing makes initiating a hip replacement lawsuit easier.

According to a New York Times investigation, about 5,000 complaints on faulty hip implants have been received by the FDA since January and nearly 4,000 of these complaints had patients using the DePuy Articular Surface Replacement (ASR). A concern on the fast growth of hip system failure have been expressed by Parker McDonald, P.C., a Texas law firm representing a large number of plaintiffs affected by the DePuy ASR recall. The number of complaints for this year so far is much higher than the number of all complaints received the past four years.

In contrast to the approved more or less 15-year life expectancy of a DePuy ASR hip implant, medical studies found that more than 1 in 8 patients would have their implant failing within 5 years, said the FDA. With some experiencing pain within less than a year, a growing number of victims also had their implants lasting only a fraction of that time. A safe and reliable solution to bone deterioration and mobility complications was how DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (J&J), marketed and sold the ASR hip system. In contrast to this assurance, complaints tell a tale of elevated symptoms of pain and hip dislocation and metallosis.

In addition to enlisting their own research team to determine the causes of the defective metal-on-metal hip implants, the FDA implemented new testing requirements for medical device companies, in an effort to avoid the same problem in the future. Since Medtronic recalled its Sprint Fidelis lead in 2007, the hip replacement recall could be the biggest and most expensive medical device issue with the number of complaints fast growing the last five years. The recall alone could cost DePuy and J&J about $1 billion, according to a New York Times analysis.