Metal On Metal Hip Replacement Recalls, Lawsuits, Settlements & Problems

Not so hip

Hip replacement is one of the most frequently performed surgeries in the U.S. – nearly 250,000 surgeries every year. Surgeons have gotten so good at this surgery that, for many patients, recovery time is minimal, and full motion returns to the hip in short order.

It’s not the surgeons to blame for the thousands upon thousands of health complications that have been linked to hip replacement operation.

Faulty devices are the problem.

If you’ve had your hip replaced, and you’ve been suffering from pain, inflammation, restricted motion, or any of several other health problems, read on to see how TheLawFirm.com can help you.

Ball and socket

You might remember from seventh-grade health class that the human hip is a ball-and-socket joint. Such a joint consists of a rounded piece of bone (the ball) that fits inside a cup (the socket) so that the ball may rotate within the socket with a high degree of freedom and flexibility. It’s exactly the kind of joint used in most automotive suspension systems, and it’s one of Mother Nature’s most extraordinary accomplishments.

But, like all bone-on-bone contact points, the hip joint can wear down. Either the rounded top of the femur or the cup inside the pelvis can wear away from years of use. That’s when doctors recommend hip replacement.

Hip replacements come in several varieties:

• metal ball / polyethylene socket

• ceramic ball / polyethylene socket

• ceramic ball / ceramic socket

• ceramic ball / metal socket

(Polyethylene is a dense, strong, firm, versatile plastic that feels waxy to the touch. It’s the most common type of plastic – you use it every day in the form of garbage bins, bottles, bags, buckets, toys, cables, and many other products.)

All of the hip replacement devices above are generally safe and effective.

Metal on metal

But there’s one kind of hip replacement device that has been, for hundreds of thousands of people, the source of pain, suffering, infection, and even additional surgeries: metal-on-metal.

When hip replacement devices have metal balls and metal sockets, they can – and do – cause serious health complications, including but not limited to:

• severe pain – even when the hip is not moving

• swelling and inflammation

• dislocation of the implant

• bone deterioration

• muscle and tendon breakdown

• a dangerous toxic condition called metallosis

• other forms of poisoning

These and other hip-replacement complications sometimes require further surgery to correct.

Metal-on-metal hip replacements are dangerous. Yet nearly a third of all hip replacement surgeries employ metal-on-metal devices.

Despite warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and thousands of lawsuits, metal-on-metal hip replacements are still on the market, and are still being used in hip replacement surgeries.

Too many devices

The hip-replacement market is a crowded market: there are dozens of metal-on-metal hip replacement devices out there, and each of them poses slightly different hazards.

If you don’t know which type of metal-on-metal hip replacement you have, contact your doctor. Then, review our site to learn more about the specific problems associated with your model.

TheLawFirm.com filed our first metal-on-metal hip replacement lawsuit in 2012, and we have continued to work on these cases every day. We are experts in hip-replacement law, and we can help you get the financial compensation to which you may be entitled.

We would be proud to advocate for your health in court.

Contact us anytime for a free consultation.

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