DePuy Manufacturing is one of the medical device industry's biggest players, but the company has humble beginnings in Warsaw, Indiana. Its founder started the business in the late 1800s by developing a splint made of synthetic material, which was more durable than the wooden splint typically used to set fractures at the time. Since then, the company has prided itself on being a leading innovator in the medical device industry, but there is an indication that safety has recently taken a back seat to such innovation. In August of 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended a recall of the DePuy ASR hip replacement systems and more recently there have been complaints regarding the Company's Pinnacle hip replacement system.

A March 2010 issue of the New York Times brought a serious potential problem with metal-on-metal hip replacement systems to light. Such systems, which include both the ASR and Pinnacle systems, reportedly carry the risk of flaking metal debris into the surrounding tissue and bloodstream of the patient. When enough debris builds up, the patient may suffer from metal poisoning. Some studies estimate that one to three percent of recipients of metal-on-metal hip replacement systems run the risk of developing a significant enough buildup to cause metal poisoning. Given that there are an estimated 250,000 hip replacement surgeries performed yearly and one third of those typically involve metal-on-metal hip replacement systems, thousands of additional people could be at risk of developing metal poisoning each year.

At least one lawsuit alleging that defects in the Pinnacle hip replacement system caused metal poisoning in the plaintiff has been filed in U.S. District Court in Washington. The plaintiff in this case alleges that he had his hip replaced with a DePuy Pinnacle system in 2007 and suffered metal poisoning, resulting in permanent injury. If more evidence comes to light regarding the causal relationship between the DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement system and metal poisoning, this could be the first in a long line of similar lawsuits.

If you or a loved one received a DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement system or any other metal-on-metal system, it is important that you are aware of the dangers. Sufferers of metal poisoning commonly go through bouts of depression and/or experience emotional outbursts. Additionally, sufferers may experience headaches, dizziness, and feelings of confusion.

If you think you may have suffered from metal poisoning because of your Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip replacement system, you might be entitled to compensation from DePuy for the harm you've suffered. The attorneys at the Rottenstein Law Group have over 25 years of experience defending the rights of their clients against big corporations like DePuy.