Chicago Man Files DePuy Pinnacle Hip Lawsuit

Chicago resident James Clark filed a DePuy Pinnacle Hip lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois on June 25, 2013, claiming that defects in the prosthetic hip joint caused him severe and permanent injuries. The suit requests compensation in excess of $50,000 from the defendants, Pinnacle Hip System manufacturer DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., and DePuy’s distributor, Premier Orthopaedic Sales, Inc.

The Pinnacle hip system

The Pinnacle Hip System is a total hip replacement system that consists of several implants and components that together constitute a prosthetic joint. The System was approved by the FDA in 2000 under the 510(k) procedure in which a device can be approved without undergoing clinical trials.

According to the lawsuit, the Pinnacle Hip System is prone to failure due to several defects in its design. Two of the system’s metallic components rub together, which results in a tendency of the components to produce metallic debris which can enter the hip recipient’s blood stream. The system also has a tendency to detach or disconnect from the bone at one of the points of implantation.

Clark’s Pinnacle hip lawyer argues that these defects add up to an unreasonably dangerous product with risks that outweigh its benefits.

Plaintiff’s hip implant failure

On June 26th, 2008, Clark’s doctor performed a total hip replacement surgery, replacing Clark’s right hip with a Pinnacle Hip System. Clark later learned that his hip implant had failed and that he had high levels of metallic elements in his blood and that he would need a second surgery to replace the failed DePuy implant. The second surgery, called a revision surgery, was performed on November 12, 2012.

As a result of the DePuy hip failure, Clark sustained severe, permanent injuries that caused him great pain and mental anguish. Clark’s injuries have interfered with his ability to conduct his life and his affairs as usual and it is expected that he will continue to be hindered and disabled due to his injuries. Clark has also had to spend a great deal of money pursuing medical care and treatment for the failed hip and the necessary revision surgery.

DePuy Pinnacle hip lawsuit

Due to his injuries, Clark retained a Pinnacle hip lawyer in order to seek compensation from DePuy and Premier. Clark’s lawsuit states that DePuy and Premier had reason to know that the Pinnacle Hip System was unreasonably dangerous, and that Premier had specifically had contact with surgeons who reported on the unacceptably high failure rate. The suit claims that Premier regularly passed these warnings on to DePuy, but DePuy continued to sell the defective product and to downplay the risks from the system in its marketing and warning materials.

The DePuy Pinnacle Hip lawsuit seeks damages from the manufacturer under the laws governing strict product liability, negligence, and breach of warranties, and from Premier under strict product liability. The suit says the product was negligently designed, inadequately tested, and sold despite not being of merchantable quality.

The DePuy hip lawsuit also says that DePuy negligently misrepresented material facts about the system in the course of marketing it. The Pinnacle Hip System, Clark’s complaint says, was not reasonably safe, failed to perform as intended, and as a result caused him serious harm.