Tennessee Residents Included in DePuy Hip Lawsuit

Nashville, TNApproximately one dozen Middle Tennessee residents have decided to join hundreds of people around the country in a DePuy hip lawsuit, the Tennessean reports.

According to multimillion-dollar lawsuits that have been filed recently in the US District Court in Nashville, these residents are suing the Indiana company that manufactured prosthetic hips that were allegedly flawed.

DePuy Orthopaedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, decided to voluntarily recall its ASR Hip Resurfacing System and ASR XL Acetabular System in 2010, the news source said. According to studies, one in every eight patients who had received the replacements needed to undergo revision surgery within five years.

Many of the lawsuits that have been filed against the company claim that it began to receive complaints about the devices in 2007, but still waited until 2010 to issue the voluntary recall.

DePuy spokeswoman Jessica Masuga said in an e-mailed statement that the company prioritized the safety of its patients.

"DePuy intends to cover reasonable and customary costs of testing and treatment, including revision surgery if it is necessary, for reasons related to the recall," she said. "DePuy also will pay for reasonable expenses related to receiving care, such as lost wages and travel costs."