The High Court awarded Gillian O’Sullivan €704,209.60 in damages after finding that 90% of her past, present and future problems were attributable to DePuy International Limited’s hip implants.
The judgment, delivered by Mr Justice Cross on 29 November 2016, followed a trial limited to assessing compensatory damages and related causation issues. DePuy denied liability, but agreed the case could proceed without Ms O’Sullivan having to establish that its products were defective. The agreement was made without an admission of liability. The court did not decide whether DePuy was negligent or whether the implants were defective.
Ms O’Sullivan had congenital hip dysplasia and underwent DePuy metal-on-metal hip replacements in 2005 and 2006. Both hips were later revised, in May 2012 and February 2013. The judgment records that she had very high cobalt and chromium levels, bone damage and an adverse reaction to metal debris. She also suffered sciatic nerve damage affecting her knee, which the judge found was probably caused during the 2012 left-hip revision.
The parties’ medical experts sharply disagreed over how much of Ms O’Sullivan’s condition was due to her underlying dysplasia and how much was related to the implants. The plaintiff’s expert attributed 90% to 95% of her problems to the implants; the defence expert gave the opposite assessment. The judge preferred the plaintiff’s expert, citing medical records, test results and supporting evidence from a neurophysiologist.
The court found that Ms O’Sullivan would need three additional hip replacements over her lifetime because of the implant problems. It also found that she was likely to remain severely disabled and in significant pain, with further revisions providing some relief but not resolving her need for care and aids.
Damages totalled €782,455.11 before a 10% reduction for the effects of dysplasia. The award comprised €482,455.11 in past and future special damages, €200,000 for general damages to date and €100,000 for future general damages. After the reduction, the court awarded €704,209.60.