Persons With Defective Stryker Hip Implants Can Pursue Legal Action

The Stryker Company is one of the leading manufacturers of medical devices, including hip implants. Stryker has sold millions of medical devices throughout the world. Many of Stryker’s hip implants have been beneficial for recipients. Unfortunately, some of the Stryker’s metal-on-metal hip implants have proven harmful to recipients, resulting in serious injuries.

Beginning in 2012, the Stryker Company recalling some of its metal-on-metal hip implants. That same year, thousands of Stryker hip implant recipients began bringing lawsuits due to injuries they alleged they suffered from the ABG II and Rejuvenate hip-replacement devices. By 2014, the Stryker Company had recalled over 40,000 hip implant devices. The continuing recalls ignited another rush of lawsuits filed against the medical device maker throughout the country.

In 2009, Stryker began marketing its Rejuvenate Hip Implant System. The next year, in 2010, the company began marketing its ABG II Modular Hip Stem Systems. Doctors and patients began to see problems with these systems after implant procedures were undertaken using the devices. Some of the first lawsuits against Stryker, related to the ABG II Modular Hip Stem System, have uncovered that the company undertook minimal clinical testing before releasing both of the hip implant systems for use in patients.

Companies are usually required to test products to ensure that they are not defective before placing them for sale in the open market. When companies fail to produce reasonably safe products, injured patients who use the products have a right to bring a product liability lawsuit against the product manufacturer. Injured patients are required to prove that the defective product caused their injuries or worsened underlying injuries.

Every day, consumers are bombarded with television, radio, and social media advertisements for class-action lawsuits against medical device manufacturers. Participating in a class-action lawsuit is not always as beneficial, however, as other alternatives to an affected individual. Class action lawsuits typically involve many people who have been injured by the same product. Some class-action lawsuits involve hundreds of thousands of plaintiffs. Some of the initial lawsuits filed by plaintiffs against the Stryker Company have already been consolidated in multi-district litigation across the United States.

When this kind of consolidation occurs, a federal court judge will order that cases be heard in trials that are known as “bellwether trials.” These trials help plaintiffs determine how juries will respond to evidence from the plaintiffs regarding injuries caused by faulty Stryker hip implants. The plaintiffs engage in a shared discovery process to present evidence in cases. The goal of the class-action lawsuit process is to settle personal injury lawsuits efficiently and to compensate each plaintiff based on the severity of one’s individual injuries and the evidence unique to one’s claim.

Stryker designed some since-recalled hip implants with metal balls placed into femoral heads. These hip implants used metal-on-metal components. Every time a patient with a metal-on-metal hip implant moved, the metal pieces of the implant rubbed together. The constant movement caused the hip implant to degrade.

As a result, metal shavings from the implant device dislodged from the device and entered the bloodstream and the surrounding tissue. The dangerous side effects of these defective metal-on-metal devices have produced the following common symptoms:

• Hip dislocation;
• Inflammation of the affected hip;
• Loss of mobility;
• Restricted movement;
• Thyroid problems;
• Bone fractures;
• Neurological dysfunction;
• Cardiac problems;
• Mental confusion ;
• Intense headaches;
• Hearing loss;
• Vertigo;
• Difficulty breathing;
• Intense headaches;
• Mental confusion ;
• Failing renal function;
• Thyroid functions;
• The need for a hip revision surgery.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that metal-on-metal hip implants are dangerous and can cause metallosis, also known as metal poisoning. Movement of the device can cause the metal to pass through the bloodstream. In addition to metal poisoning, these devices can cause necrosis of tissue, hip dislocation, bone fractures, and pseudo-tumors.

Some victims of defective Stryker hip implants have filed individual cases against the company. These cases are often tried in local county courthouses.

The best thing you can do if you have a potential claim is to speak to an experienced Charlotte product liability lawyer who will review the facts of your case and advise you of the best legal option for you to recover compensation for your injuries. Contact Arnold & Smith, PLLC as soon as possible to schedule your free initial consultation.