The High Court awarded Joan Dineen €321,000 in compensatory damages after finding that a DePuy ASR/XL hip implant was defective and caused her injury. The court rejected DePuy International Limited’s defence under the Liability for Defective Products Act 1991 but did not award aggravated damages.
Mr Justice Cross delivered the judgment on 1 December 2017, following a hearing that began on 30 June and continued until 7 November 2017. DePuy had offered to let the case proceed on the basis that the product’s defect would not have to be proved, but only if Dineen gave up her claim for aggravated damages. She did not accept that condition, and the case proceeded to a determination on liability and damages.
Dineen received the metal-on-metal implant during right hip replacement surgery in February 2009. The court heard that her blood metal-ion readings rose in the years that followed. During a 2015 revision operation, her surgeon found bone erosion and a large fluid-filled sac around the hip. A further revision was carried out in November 2016. The judgment records continuing pain and reduced mobility after the operations.
The judge found that design features of the ASR/XL—including a thin, deformable cup, reduced coverage and small clearance between the head and cup—made excessive wear more likely. He accepted that the implant’s wear caused Dineen’s elevated ion levels and that the bone damage, sac and symptoms showed she had suffered injury. He found no additional negligence beyond the breach of statutory duty.
DePuy argued that the wear was not excessive, that metal-on-metal implants can produce debris, and that the product had been adequately tested. It also relied on the statutory defence that the scientific and technical knowledge available when the implant was put into circulation could not have revealed the defect. The court rejected that defence, finding that relevant risks were known and that more rigorous testing could have exposed the problems. It also found DePuy had serious concerns about the product by the time Dineen’s implant was manufactured.
The court found that the evidence did not meet the threshold for aggravated damages. It said DePuy was entitled to require proof in this case and to have the law tested in Ireland. The award comprised €201,000 in special damages and €120,000 in general damages. Special damages included €150,000 for future care, €15,000 for past care, €35,000 for aids, appliances and related costs, and €1,000 for orthopaedic reviews. The court assessed general damages at €85,000 to date and €35,000 into the future.