If you are one of the many people who have undergone a joint replacement, you know the anticipation you felt prior to your surgery. Replacing a joint such as a knee or a hip should offer you better mobility and less pain than you experienced prior to the replacement. For this to happen, however, the procedure must be completed properly, and the joint replacement product must be free from defects or side effects. Sadly, these things are not always the case.
As explained by the United States Food and Drug Administration, many hip implants were made with metal for both the ball and the socket components. Cobalt and chromium are two of the metals in these devices. As with a natural human hip joint, the ball and socket components rub together during any movement. The resulting friction can cause wear. In metal on metal replacements, the friction has been found to release metal particles that may enter a person’s bloodstream, poisoning the patient.
Cobalt and chromium poisoning have been linked to bone erosion, excessive pain, damage to nerves and muscles and more. Lawsuits have been initiated and some settled over the last couple of years. In late 2017, Wright Medical agreed to a nearly $90 million settlement and in the spring of 2019, Johnson & Johnson settled a lawsuit for $1 billion after ceasing production of the metal on metal hip implants.
If you would like to learn more about how to seek the help and compensation you and your family deserve after potentially being injured due to a defective medical product, please feel free to visit the patient rights and assistance page of our medical malpractice and class action website.
