The DePuy ASR Hip Implant was finally recalled on August 26, 2010. This defective device had been surgically implanted in over 90,000 patients before Johnson & Johnson - the parent company of DePuy - acknowledged the outcries of the medical community and pulled the ASR from the market.
The ASR hip implant was unusual in design and execution. It was presented to the Food and Drug Administration as a group of components that would be used for total hip replacement, and DePuy asked that the implant be approved on an accelerated basis because it was "substantially equivalent" to other hip products that were available.
In fact, the ASR system was different from other products in several respects. Most importantly, DePuy ASR utilized a metal acetabular cup and a metal femoral ball. Most hip implants utilize a plastic cup or liner; this prevents metal from rubbing on metal. The ASR was designed to have a metal ball and a metal cup bearing all the pressure that the human body places on the hip joint.
Johnson & Johnson brought the DePuy ASR hip implant system to market in 2005. Within months of the first implantation, there were reports of problems with the ASR hip implant. Every year since 2006, more and more failures have been reported and an Australian study concluded that the failure rate of the ASR was significantly higher than those sold by other manufacturers.
Girardi and Keese has extensive experience in prosecuting hip implant cases. It has the knowledge and experience to successfully pursue your DePuy ASR implant case.
