A claim for blood poisoning injury has been made against DePuy Orthopedics by a woman who received her DePuy ASR hip replacement system as recently as November 2009.
The claim, made by Delores Hatcher from Wheeling, West Virginia, follows the results of a blood test in April 2011 which indicated high levels of chromium-1 and meta-cobalt in her blood – known causes of cardiovascular injury and neurological conditions such as headaches, confusion and cognitive decline, and possibly carcinogens which could lead to the development of cancer.
Delores added her claim to the growing number of compensation claims following the DePuy hip recall of August 2010 after visiting her doctor complaining of pain around her left hip and difficulty in walking. Both Delores and her doctor were overcome by the outcome of the blood tests as the hip replacement was fitted in November 2009 and had failed in a short period of time.
In her claim for blood poisoning compensation, Delores also accuses Johnson & Johnson – the parent company of DePuy Orthopedics – of hiding known defects with the faulty hip replacement systems and alleges that they aggressively marketed the faulty hip replacement systems by paying kickbacks to medical supplies purchasers and orthopedic surgeons.