The DePuy Knee Replacement System Can Fail Prematurely

DePuy Knee Lawsuit News

The DePuy knee suffers from many problems at the point where the device comes in direct contact with the tibia

Thursday, May 31, 2018 - The DePuy Knee system was first brought to market in 2010, under the FDA's fast-track program and quickly became the world's bestselling knee replacement system. Unfortunately, however, the DePuy knee replacement also has had an unacceptably high failure rate resulting in catastrophic injuries. Over 1000 adverse event reports have been filed by individuals, mostly senior citizens, claiming that their DePuy artificial knee has failed and required painful and expensive revision surgery. Adverse event reports run ten times as many as the next best-selling artificial knee on the market. Patients suffering from DePuy Knee replacement failure can hire a DePuy knee replacement lawyer and possibly file a personal injury lawsuit against DePuy Synthes and its parent company Johnson & Johnson claiming that the company rushed a faulty medical device to market. Plaintiffs seek reimbursement of the medical expenses including rehabilitation expenses, lost income, pain and suffering and all compensation for other related damages.

At issue in the litigation is a part of the DePuy knee called the tibial baseplate. The tibial baseplate is the sleeve is the bottom part of the knee device into which the tibia is snugly inserted and tightly glued. Most complaints focus on the glue used to hold the knee in place having a tendency to fail within six months or so. For many, the glue never held in the first place. Since the tibia bone a.k.a. the shin bone, fits snugly into the sleeve, failing cement can allow the shin, ankle, and foot to twist on its axis and actually become misaligned with the rest of the leg. The knee is a tremendously complex joint and is required to bear a person's entire weight with every step. The slightest misalignment can cause injuries in other parts of the leg, hip and even lower back. If the angle of the foot to the leg unexpectedly changes, all of the critical angles between the hip, femur, knee, and lower leg change as well and the results can be any number of injuries. Muscles, tendon, and ligaments can be stretched, torn or snapped leading to excruciating pain and potentially life-threatening injuries from falling. In addition to twisting, the DePuy knee replacement can simply loosen and cause the tibia bone to gradually grind down and become shorter and shorter.

So many Depuy knee replacements have failed in this manner that the company has been forced to totally redesign the knee. The new DePuy "Revision" Knee Replacement System specifically addresses the problem of tibial baseplate loosening as well as the various sizes needed depending on the extent of a patient's bone loss.

Every DePuy knee replacement patient that had their surgery longer than 3 months ago is at risk of their artificial knee loosening at the tibial baseplate and are advised to report any incidences of pain below the knee in their shin. Pain is the best early indicator that the tibial baseplate has come loose.

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