DePuy ASR Lawsuit Update: Toxicologist Testifies That Plaintiff Kransky Has High Levels Of Metal In His Blood

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Rottenstein Law Group, which represents hip implant clients, is closely monitoring the proceedings of the Los Angeles DePuy trial (In re: Loren Kransky and Sheryl Kransky v. DePuy, Inc., et al., BC456086, Los Angeles Superior Court) and is featuring those updates on our  DePuy ASR Hip Recall Information Center.

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On Friday, Feb. 1., Dr. Robert Harrison, a toxicologist, testified on the harm caused by the metals cobalt and chromium when they enter a person's bloodstream. Harrison testified that after carefully reviewing Kransky's medical records he determined that Kransky suffers from elevated levels of metal ions in his bloodstream, the Rottenstein Law Group reports after reviewing live testimony from the trial via the Courtroom View Network.*

Harrison, who has written more than 40 academic articles about toxicology, said he had received calls from several patients concerned about elevated levels of metal in their bloodstream. The patients had received metal-on-metal hip implants such the DePuy ASR. He said that Kransky had "seven or eight times the level set by the California Poison Control department."

The dangers of metal poisoning, also called "metallosis," are twofold, Harrison said. One is what he called "local damage," which is damage to the tissue around the DePuy ASR hip implant. Cells and genes can be altered by sustained exposure to high levels of cobalt and chromium, he said. The other danger is "systemic," he said, in which the metal ions are carried throughout the body, which can affect the central nervous system. Harrison also testified that the medical and science communities have known about the dangers of metal poisoning from metal implant components since the 1970s.

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