MOM hip joint failure may cause more claims

The north Yorkshire compensation solicitor pursuing faulty product claims for 90 MOM hip replacement patients has warned that further makes of metal-on-metal hip could cause problems for recipients.

The original patient claimants all received faulty products manufactured by US-based DePuy Orthopaedics.

However, new research by the British Orthopaedic Association has revealed further faulty replacement hip products, with greater failure rates than the DePuy joint, after investigations into short to mid-term failure rates at various hospitals including Belfast, Cardiff, Southampton and Stockton-on Tees.

Certain joints exhibited a 12 to 15 per cent failure rate over five years.

The compensation solicitor said, "Not only does the evidence suggest the joints are failing more frequently than expected, but the way in which they fail, and the damage they cause as they wear out, is far greater than was expected.

"I understand that the advice now on metal-on-metal hips is that they should be implanted with extreme caution, carefully considered and possibly avoided."

While medical professionals are now advocating the use of enamel rather than metal for replacement hips, this advice is too late for those patients who have already suffered as a result of receiving metal-on-metal (MOM) joints.

However, for the 90 faulty product claim candidates in north Yorkshire their solicitor is hopeful that the case will soon be resolved.

"The main legal obstacle has been removed and, while there will be some technical and medical arguments in some cases, we would expect the majority of our clients' claims to be successful," he said.