Surgeon Cautioned By DePuy Rep about ASR Hip

After receiving a warning about issues with the DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip implant from a sales rep, a Montana surgeon said he stopped using the device in his patients about eight months before it was recalled, according to videotaped testimony in the ongoing trial.

Bloomberg reports that Dr. Peter Wendt told the jury that 76 ASR hip devices were implanted by him, including the one in Loren Kransky. The Kransky lawsuit is the first of 10,000 filed against Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy unit to go to trial over allegations that the ASR hip implants recalled in 2010 were defectively designed and the company failed to warn patients and physicians of the risks.

Johnson & Johnson rejects Kransky’s claims and says the ASR hip device was correctly designed.

Dr. Wendt says he stopped using the ASR implants after being told by DePuy’s Dan Harrington that there were some problems with the device, according to Bloomberg.

The surgeon said that prior to that conversation, DePuy had never informed him that patients had issues with debris from the cobalt and chromium devices. He also said he did not know DePuy considered redesigning the device to prevent the problem, Bloomberg reports. He said he would have stopped using the implant if he knew either of those facts.

Dr. Wendt said he started using ASR hip implants after DePuy said that the device had a 98 percent success rate.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by an unsafe medical device such as a metal-on-metal hip replacement, contact Sokolove Law for a free legal consultation and to find out if a product liability lawyer may be able to help you.

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