The natural hip joint of a human being is formed by the top of the thigh bone, called the femur, meeting the socket of the pelvic bone, called the acetabulum. The acetabulum and femur are both naturally made to fit into each other.The bones in the hip are protected and cushioned by the cartilage that the hip is equipped with. However, the most common cause for hip replacement surgery, hip arthritis can cause this cartilage to wear down to the point where the bones begin to rub against each other causing the person pain.

The next logical step for someone who has begun to show signs of hip arthritis or any other cause for hip pain would usually be hip replacement surgery.  In the United States alone over 270,000 people elect to undergo hip replacement surgery to relieve pain, return mobility, and remove stiffness from their injured hips.  The hip replacement surgery happens in two parts, first the top of the femur or femoral stem is removed and replaced with an artificial ball, afterwards the acetabulum is replaced with an artificial shell where the ball will be placed.The two artificial components are made to simulate natural movement as closely as possible.

Normally as with any surgery there will be an expected recovery time as the body heals and begins to adapt to the new artificial implants.  There are some bodies however that actually rejects the implant causing the patient even more pain.  Other common severe adverse side effects to the surgery can include: bone dislocation, leg length discrepancy, failure to improve all pain, bone fracture, change in component position, infection, and even loosening and dislodging of the implant.

Once surgery has been completed and the body has finished its healing process, there are other potentially harmful side effects one needs to be careful of. The failure of the hip replacement system is the next thing the patient needs to be careful of. The DePuy Pinnacle, one of the most recent Hip Replacement systems by DePuy Orthopaedics Inc, has had an unusually high failure rate of 15% amongst its recipients.

The failure rate of the Pinnacle has actually caused many of its recipients to file a Depuy Pinnacle Lawsuit against Depuy. If you have received a DePuy Pinnacle hip replacement that has begun to fail, you may need to consult with a DePuy Pinnacle lawyer as soon as possible to know what your possible legal options can be.  Free Consultations are given by most lawyers, and many will not even charge you unless your case receives compensation.