Failures with Metal Hip Implants Not Uncommon

Half. Half. Half. It’s almost unbelievable, but new research out of New Zealand indicates that half of all metal-on-metal hip implants patients received in the last ten years have failed. Half. With a number that large, it is honestly fair to ask if it would have been better not to have performed those surgeries at all, as most of the people whose implants have failed are now facing worse prognoses than they were before the surgery.

It seems almost unconscionable that a company would release a product, particularly a medical product, with a failure rate that high. Even more unbelievable is that it was not just one company. Companies with unacceptable failure rates include:

• Wright
• Zimmer
• DePuy
• Smith & Nephew
• Biomet

The list above is not complete. In fact, if a company developed a metal-on-metal hip implant, it is a safe bet that those implants are failing at an astronomical level, endangering the health of anyone who received the product. People in need of hip implants are particularly medically fragile, because of the importance of the hip joint to so many movements of the human body. Failing hip implants lead to falls which lead to greater medical difficulties.

If you or someone you love has received a hip implant in the last ten years, it is important that you monitor the implant very closely. Make sure you are getting your annual checkups from the doctor, and report any problems with the implant immediately. When something does go wrong, hopefully you and your doctor can catch it before it worsens drastically. Additionally, if something does go wrong or has gone wrong with the hip implant, it is important you contact a qualified attorney. You deserve compensation for your pain and suffering, and it is important to send a message to the medical device community that a failure rate of fifty percent is not acceptable.