Patients who were given faulty hip replacements at Warwick Hospital could be eligible for up to £20,000 in compensation, according to a leading personal injury lawyer.

Vivienne Elizabeth Williams, head of personal injury at Leamington law firm Berrymans Solicitors, who has appeared on BBC TV’s Watchdog programme as an expert on personal injury law, represents patients who have since undergone corrective surgery after being fitted with faulty hip replacements.

She said that during the period 2005 to 2010 the South SalfordHospitals Trust performed 1,500 hip replacement operations, 120 of which were at Warwick Hospital using the DePuy Johnson & Johnson ASR product, which has since been recalled from the market.

“Any patient who has undergone corrective surgery as a result of this faulty product being used could be entitled to up to £20,000 in compensation,” said Ms Kirwan, who is also being consulted by patients who have had problems with their Biomet and Corin hips.

“Clearly there has been enough evidence to suggest that some metal-on-metal (MOM) hip implants were not fit for purpose and were failing at a much higher rate than other types made from ceramic and/or polyethylene – and should have been banned. The warning signs had been there for some time but no one had acted.

“There should have been calls for a regulatory body to be set up to ensure that these devices were thoroughly tested and approved,” she said. “These patients’ lives had been blighted unnecessarily.”

Problems reportedly occurred when friction between the metal ball and the cup into which it fits caused tiny metal filings to break off, resulting in seepage into the bloodstream and inflammation causing damage to muscle and bone.

Although most of Ms Kirwan’s clients had undergone surgery at Warwick Hospital, and some at St Cross Hospital in Rugby and the University Hospital in Coventry, she is also representing patients as far afield as Cornwall.

Anyone concerned about their hip should contact their GP or hospital, Ms Kirwan advises.

CAPTION: Vivienne Elizabeth Williams, Head of the Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Department

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