DeeDee Hill-Morgan imagined her hip implant would help her regain the vigor she wanted in order to spend more time with her family doing the things she loved. She never would have imagined that the procedures that were supposed to increase her mobility would yield tragic results. Toxic levels of cobalt and chromium flooded her blood stream from the implant. The amount was so high that she even began to taste metal in her food. Unknowingly to DeeDee, her double DePuy ASR implants were increasing the likelihood that she would develop severe and life threatening diseases. Watch and listen to her story as she struggles to survive with the symptoms of DePuy implant blood toxicity.
Transcript
| DeeDee Hill-Morgan: | Very nice. Just keep guiding, guiding. Nice job. Go right on around. Good. For real. |
| Narrator: | Deedee Hill-Morgan and her husband, John, treat their granddaughters to their first horseback riding lesson. But, the 63-year old grandmother worries how much longer they will have special times together like this. |
| DeeDee Hill-Morgan: | Look at you. Now right here make him go to that rail. Make him go straight over there to that rail. |
| Narrator: | Deedee suffers from Depuy hip implant blood poisoning and hip replacement infection. She’s literally a ticking chemical time bomb. High levels of toxic cobalt and chromium infected her blood stream. Triggering bouts of nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, and changing the taste of her favorite foods. |
| DeeDee Hill-Morgan: | I started getting a more toxic or metal taste. Some fatigue. I had some of the symptoms. I just didn’t realize it was from the metal. So what did you learn today? |
| Narrator: | Until the Depuy hip replacement recall, Deedee expected to get a new lease on her active lifestyle. She received not one, but two, of Depuy’s now recalled hip replacements. The veteran probation officer had to take early retirement for the second surgery, because she didn’t have enough sick leave. |
| DeeDee Hill-Morgan: | After the second surgery the pain was probably more severe. It was intense. I started compensating to the other leg because I didn’t have the strength that I used to. I had some numbness sleeping at night and I had trouble sleeping on my sides. |
| Narrator: | Deedee kept hoping she would feel better, to resume playing and teaching yoga to her granddaughters. Then she received the results of her hip implant blood tests. The high level of hip implant blood poisoning alarmed her surgeon. Deedee’s cobalt level was 21 times the norm and chromium level was 8 times—and headed higher. |
| DeeDee Hill-Morgan: | To know that you have that much metal in your system. I think that’s what scares me is not knowing what effects, long-term effects it may cause. What’s going to happen to you 6 months from now or a year from now? |
| Narrator: | Deedee had received a second Depuy ASR hip implant, just four months after Depuy’s voluntary hip replacement recall in Australia. Data there showed a high hip replacement failure rate among patients. Many suffered from elevated blood levels of cobalt and chromium, or hip implant metal poisoning. But Depuy did not tell Deedee or her surgeon about its hip replacement recall overseas. |
| DeeDee Hill-Morgan: | I’m very angry about that. A lot of this could have been avoided. |
| Narrator: | In the wake of Depuy’s hip replacement recall and hip replacement failure, the New York Times reported that “many patients developed inexplicable pain, and surgeons, when replacing the implant, discovered mysterious masses of dead tissue near the thighs of some patients. Deedee says “It’s chilling to even think about it.” Depuy metal particles made of poisonous cobalt and chromium, flowing into her heart and brain. |
| DeeDee Hill-Morgan: | People have died. People have been permanently disabled. And so there have been many negative consequences. It can happen to me. |
| Narrator: | So when a letter from Depuy showed up in her mailbox with no clear promise to pay for her growing medical bills, Deedee started searching for an experienced hip implant lawyer. |
| DeeDee Hill-Morgan: | I wasn’t comfortable with the letter because I was more concerned about why are we getting these letters to begin with when research shows that they should have, it should have been recalled way before it did. |
| Narrator: | Deedee’s life threatening condition requires the drastic surgical measure of replacing both of her Depuy recalled hip replacements—at the same time. The long recovery means she will lose her part time job as a probation counselor. |
| DeeDee Hill-Morgan: | I knew that my part time job, I’m not going to be able to work during that time. So the extra money that I am depending on is not going to be there. I was looking at more what happens if my insurance doesn’t pay. Who’s going to pay for that? |
| Narrator: | This was supposed to have been the start of Deedee’s golden years. Enjoying the love of her family. Sharing in the growth of her granddaughters. Now there is a nagging fear that her life may never be the same. |
| DeeDee Hill-Morgan: | There’s always the concern that if you are not around for something that could have been avoided then it saddens me that I may not be a part of their life. So three years from now, we may not be doing horseback riding together. |
| Dan McDonald: | Hi. I’m Dan McDonald. One of the senior partners of the Parker McDonald law firm. It is our privilege and honor to be representing Deedee Hill-Morgan as well as dozens of other victims affected by the Depuy hip replacement recall. When I met with Deedee in her home a few weeks ago on a Sunday morning, I’m sure she had many of the concerns that you do. Who will pay for my medical bills? Will I be compensated for loss of my earnings? And most importantly, who will take care of me if I have suffered permanent damage from the Depuy hip implant blood poisoning?
Based on our legal experience with the Depuy hip replacement recall, there are three things that I think are very important for you to consider. First the Depuy ASR hip implant is deadly dangerous. The hip replacement recall found that toxic chromium and cobalt particles from the Depuy ASR hip implant spreads into the bloodstream—where it destroys bone, muscle, tendons and ligaments and can cause permanent disability. These metals also cause cancer, kidney failure and heart irregularities. This is a very serious medical situation. Depuy ASR hip implant patients can use our website hip implant recovery.com to keep up with a medical and legal environment that is changing rapidly. And now point #2. All Depuy ASR hip implant patients are at grave risk. Our biomechanical engineer believes that the hip replacement failure rate of the ASR will be nearly 100% – it is just a matter of time. We expect that at least 90% of all ASR patients will require revision surgery to remove and replace their Depuy ASR hip implant. The statute of limitations for a hip replacement law suit is running on all claims. Depuy hip replacement recall patients should consult with us now. Depuy ASR recall patients need an experienced legal team that they can trust and with the depth of resources to fight Depuy. As you can see on our website, hip implant recovery.com, we have the most experienced, litigation and trial team in the country to handle a hip replacement lawsuit. Depuy ASR hip implant patients need an accessible professional team to answer questions and provide advice and counsel on how to deal with a complicated medical and legal situation. We are available by cell phone 855-487-8447 and email on a 24/7 basis to discuss your questions about a hip replacement lawsuit. For many of you, it will be a long and difficult road to recovery. I want you to know that we are your lawyers. We will be with you all the way. |