A man is suing DePuy Synthes, Johnson & Johnson's orthopedic business, for allegedly marketing knee implants the company knew were faulty, according to a lawsuit filed April 17 in North Carolina's Western District Court.
Plaintiff Dwight Petty had a knee replacement in 2017 with the Attune device, according to the lawsuit. After feeling persistent pain, it was revealed in 2020 that the tibial portion of the implant loosened, and Mr. Petty had a revision surgery.
The lawsuit accuses DePuy Synthes of negligence, breach of express warranty and unfair and deceptive trade practice, among other claims.
The company allegedly became aware of safety issues with Attune in 2013 and 2014, and FDA had reports of "an extremely high incidence of aseptic loosening at the tibial baseplate of the Attune device resulting in subsequent revision surgeries," the lawsuit said. In 2016, DePuy submitted an intent to market an updated Attune revision knee system but didn't recall the defective tibial baseplate or inform clients about the danger of its use.
"Defendants knew about the design defects and resulting failures with the original Attune tibial baseplate long before the newly designed tibial baseplate (ATTUNE S+) was cleared in June of 2017, yet they failed to share this information with orthopedic surgeons using the Attune devices," the lawsuit said.
Mr. Petty is asking for a jury trial and $75,000 in damages.
A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson MedTech said in an email to Becker's that the company is "confident that the evidence will show that the company acted appropriately and responsibly in the design and testing of the Attune knee system. We are committed to the defense of the allegations in this lawsuit."