First faulty hip implants case brought | Irish Examiner.

First faulty hip implants case brought

By Ann O’Loughlin

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

A woman who had two hip replacement operations has launched what is believed to be the first action for damages over allegedly defective implants.

The High Court case has been brought by Irene Pierson, one of thousands of people who had DePuy Orthopaedics hip joints fitted before DePuy ordered a global recall of the product in 2010.

Yesterday, the High Court heard Ms Pierson’s intended action is against DePuy and related companies which allegedly supplied and manufactured the hip replacement product, Johnson & Johnson, which owns DePuy, and the HSE.

Ms Pierson alleges she entered into a contract with the HSE in Mar 2007 to have a right hip implant, manufactured by DePuy, fitted, and in Sept 2008, to have a left hip implant fitted. It is alleged both of the implants were not of merchantable quality, and have begun to malfunction.

She claims the defendants have acted in breach of contract and is seeking to recover damages.

Ms Pierson’s solicitor, Edward McGarr, secured an order allowing him to serve the proceedings on a number of defendants who are outside the jurisdiction.

He said he wished to serve notice of the proceedings against DePuy International, which has an address in Leeds, England; DePuy Orthopaedics, and DePuy, which have addresses in Indiana in the US; and Johnson & Johnson, which has an address in New Jersey in the US.

Permission to serve the intended defendants was granted by Mr Justice Michael Peart.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Related articles

• US Drug Watchdog Now Urges All DePuy ASR And DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant Recipients to Call Them for the Names of the Best Law Firms Before its Too Late for Compensation (prweb.com)
• US Drug Watchdog Now Urges All DePuy ASR And DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant Recipients To Call Them For The Names Of The Best Law Firms-Don’t Get Left Holding The Bag (prweb.com)
• US Drug Watchdog Now Urges All Recipients Of A Recalled DePuy ASR Hip Implant To Call Them For The Names Of The Best Possible Law Firms Before Time Runs Out (prweb.com)
• Thousands Must Have Second Operation to Replace Defective DePuy Hip (blogs.lawyers.com)
• Plan to bring first case over defective hip implants (independent.ie)