Developer of Defective Hip Replacements Named in DePuy Lawsuit

In a products liability lawsuit, multiple parties may be at fault: designers, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, transporters, and installers (when applicable). Anyone along the chain from designer to end-user can negligently create, handle, or tamper with the product. For the defective DePuy hip implants, though, there is a slight chance the orthopedist who operated on the recipient may be responsible. DePuy, of course, claims that many orthopedists implanted the hip replacements incorrectly. However, one instance of a recipient suing his orthopedist recently came to light.

Dr. Thomas Schmalzried, a California-based orthopedist, co-developed the defective ASR XL Acetabular Hip System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System. Both of these devices have been found to fail in roughly 1 in 8 recipients after 5 years. Symptoms of a failed hip replacement include pain, weakness, swelling, and worse metallosis, which is the accumulation of chromium and cobalt ions in the surrounding tissues and blood. In 2006 Dr. Schmalzried implanted the plaintiff with an ASR DePuy hip replacement. The replacement subsequently failed, and now he’s suing his orthopedist for breach of fiduciary duty. Put simply, the plaintiff is arguing that Dr. Schmalzried should have disclosed to him that he received money from DePuy in royalty payments ($10 million by now). By not disclosing the payments, the plaintiff claims his orthopedist defrauded him.

The facts surrounding the lawsuit make it unusual for most DePuy hip replacement recipients. Rochelle Rottenstein, principal of the Rottenstein Law Group, said, “While we generally discourage our clients from suing doctors who have unwittingly implanted defective devices, the Schmalzried lawsuit is a unique situation, since that surgeon allegedly participated in the design of the ASR and was on DePuy’s payroll.”

If you received a defective DePuy hip replacement and are contemplating a hip replacement lawsuit against the company, it is highly unlikely that your orthopedist was at fault. It is important to be thorough, so when you consult a hip replacement lawyer, she may advise you to go to a new orthopedist for a second opinion in case there were questions about the first. For more information contact the Rottenstein Law Group.