Chromium and Cobalt Poisoning Claims in New DePuy Lawsuit

A West Virginia woman has filed a lawsuit against Johnson and Johnson, the manufacturers of the recalled DePuy ASR hip replacement systems, which includes a claim for biologic toxicity compensation.

Delores Hatcher, from Wheeling, West Virginia, underwent replacement hip surgery on her left hip in November 2009. Within months on having the Depuy ASR Hip Replacement System implanted, she started to experience severe pain in her hip which left her unable to walk for any length of time

In April 2011, Delores´ doctor found high levels of meta-cobalt and chromium-1 in her blood – factors which are known to cause neurological problems such as confusion, hand tremors, cognitive decline, headaches and cardiological dysfunction

In addition to suing for product liability, Delores contends that Johnson & Johnson concealed the defects of the hip replacements when marketing the products and also alleges unjust enrichment against DePuy and Johnson & Johnson, noting that the U.S. Attorney’s Office charged the companies for aggressively marketing the metal-on-metal implants by paying illegal kickbacks to doctors and medical facilities.