Hip implant damages cases imminent

The first compensation cases linked to the fitting of thousands of flawed hip implants could be heard by the end of the year.

Solicitor Peter McDonnell, who is representing more than 200 of the 3,282 Irish people affected by the worldwide scandal, said he expects to file a case against DePuy, a subsidiary of US multinational Johnson and Johnson, by August.

Mr McDonnell said the case is based on the claim DePuy continued to sell the hips in Europe, Australia and India for a full year after the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) banned the artificial joints from use in the US.

Specifically, the FDA warned in 2009 that the company’s popular ASR Acetubular metal-on-metal hip implant was causing small fragments to break off and come in to the bloodstream, risking cobalt blood poisoning.

It said between 10% and 12% of US patients with this type of hip needed it repaired within five years compared with about 2% for ceramic and plastic alternatives. However, despite this situation, the hips were not removed from Ireland until Aug 2010.

The claim, which is central to the alleged issues faced by Irish hip implant recipients, is further supported by an autumn 2009 email sent between DePuy executives which acknowledged the US-based FDA concerns and was revealed by the New York Times last month. DePuy said this correspondence was part of a process towards withdrawing the artificial joint type outside of the US the following year, in Aug 2010.

However, Mr McDonnell said it added further credence to the mounting legal cases seeking compensation for people affected by what happened.

“That is a key part of the group action for medical negligence we will be taking. We are at the stage of investigating individual patient records, getting blood tests carried out and corresponding with legal teams in other countries.

“But while it is still at this stage I would expect to file a case by August.

“I would be trying to get the court hearings within a year,” the solicitor, who was part of a major campaign against tobacco companies in the 1980s and 1990s which contributed to the 2003 ban on smoking in the workplace, explained.

“At the moment the case will be against Johnson and Johnson, but also DePuy. It could also be against the individual surgeons and facilities, depending on the information involved.”

Mr McDonnell and patient groups have told people affected by the hips scandal not to release their medical records to DePuy or return the original artificial joint without first seeking legal advice.

The legal development comes just days after a major study by British researchers found metal-on-metal hips are far more likely to fail than ceramic or plastic alternatives and said they should be banned from future use.

* Mr McDonnell can be contacted on 01 6694696 or [e-mail]