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Legal Options for Ceramic Hip Implant Defects

Written by AskTheLawyers.com™

Legal Options for Ceramic Hip Implant Defects

Written by AskTheLawyers.com™

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Hip implant defects are an alarmingly common cause of complications in hip surgery patient recovery. While many hip implants have been recalled and hip plant manufacturers are currently being sued for damage to patient’s health, ceramic hip implants present their own unique set of dangers and damages.

Patients who have received a ceramic hip implant have specific complaints regarding the way the implant moves and feels in their body.

Frequent complaints from patients who have received a ceramic hip implant include a squeaking and popping sound from the implant when they walk, discomfort and pain due to the implant when walking, and even instances where the implant fractured or shattered inside the patient’s body. In the case of defective hip implants, these products have even been linked to high levels of toxicity in a patient’s body.

Ceramic hip implants are theoretically designed to do away with the wear-and-tear complications of traditional metal and plastic hip implants.

While ceramic hip implants are designed to offer benefits to the patients who need them which traditional metal and plastic implants do not offer (i.e. less inflammation, lower likelihood of cyst development, lower risk of debris build-up around the joint), they also present significant and unique risks due to defects in some of these products. Even in properly functioning non-defective products, studies have shown that two major drawbacks of ceramic hip implants include a greater likelihood of squeaking and a greater likelihood of damage to the device during use.

Ceramic hip implants from certain manufacturers were recalled due to a variety of defects, including the following:

  • Uneven wearing of the ceramic-on-ceramic implants due to design flaws
  • Loosening and/or shattering of the implant due to design flaws
  • Use of bacterially contaminated components in the implants
  • Failing to notify medical professionals and patients about the risks presented by their product
  • Components in the ceramic-metal implants grinding together, causing metal fragments to be released into the bloodstream
  • Early failure of implant

These defects have caused a wide variety of injuries and damages to the patients that were implanted with them. Ceramic hip implants were advertised to offer fewer complications than traditional implants and to last far longer inside a patient’s body before needing to be replaced. In the case of defective implants, this has proven to be untrue. Squeaking and painful inflammation at the site of the implant are common symptoms of early implant failure. The release of metal fragments into the bloodstream created when components of the ceramic-metal implants rubbed together is particularly responsible for a variety of health problems for patients, including damage to the muscles, bones, tissues, and nerves.

Common injuries sustained from ceramic hip implant defects:

  • Squeaking and popping
  • Bone chipping and fractures
  • Inflammation
  • Infection
  • Metallosis
  • Muscle injury
  • Nerve damage
  • Severe pain
  • Tissue damage
  • Tumors

Hip implant surgery is already an expensive and often stressful endeavor, and the choice to receive a hip implant can be life-changing for a patient in need, for better or for worse. If you or a loved one received a ceramic hip implant and are now experiencing health issues as a result, seek legal counsel to learn more about your rights and discover what compensation you might be eligible for.

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