Plaintiffs Challenge Hospital’s $1,000 Fee to Return Pinnacle Hip Explant

DALLAS — The Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant MDL has weighed in on a Seattle hospital’s refusal to comply with a subpoena requesting production of a device that was surgically removed from a plaintiff’s hip.

In a Feb. 18 position statement, the committee questions the motive behind the hospital’s $1,000 demand for the return of plaintiff Alyse Russell’s explanted Pinnacle device, calling it exorbitant and inconsistent with fees charged by other medical facilities for the recovery of explants relevant to the litigation.

Russell underwent revision surgery in October 2013 to have her Pinnacle implant removed and …