It’s been discovered that metal particles from hip implants can get into the bloodstream, but it’s unclear whether the levels are high enough to cause problems. This uncertainty caused the Food and Drug Administration to order 21 companies, including DePuy, that make metal-on-metal hip implants to further study the safety of these hip replacement devices, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A particular area of concern is cobalt and chromium getting into the bloodstream. Some patients have had problems with their heart, nervous system and thyroid gland potentially because of metal ions in the bloodstream.
These metal-to-metal hip replacement devices have three metal parts: a ball, a stem in the femur, and a cup in the hip bone. Orthopedic surgeons can actually check the metal levels in a person’s blood stream through blood tests, removing fluid from the joint with a needle or imaging the joint.
If you or a loved one had a hip replacement and are suffering adverse side effects, consider speaking to an attorney about your legal options. Reports are surfacing that some hip replacement manufacturers didn’t even do safety tests before releasing their hip replacement devices to the public.
To learn more, check out this free consumer report about the DePuy hip replacement recall. It illustrates the serious defects of these hip replacement devices.
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About the Editors: The Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm, which has offices in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC), edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as pro bono services.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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