Zimmer Kinectiv Hip Injury Lawyers

A medical device manufacturer named Zimmer Biomet developed its hip implant M/L Taper with Kinectiv Technology with good intentions, however, after the product came onto the market, numerous patients began bringing complaints alleging that the device caused them to suffer serious injuries.

Zimmer’s Taper devices were sold on the open market for less than one month. Despite being sold for such a short time period, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Class 1 Recall on June 8, 2015. The FDA only issues Class 1 recalls for products that it considers to be dangerous to users.

Zimmer initially marketed the product as being superior to other options on the market because surgeons could tailor it to fit patients’ joints during arthroplasty, or during a surgical repair of a diseased hip joining. Unfortunately, many claimants have alleged that instead of helping, the device caused additional injuries and medical complications.

Zimmer promoted the M/L Taper with Kinectiv technology to enable surgeons to tailor the product for female and male anatomies and for varying leg lengths. The company claimed that the product could relieve an impingement of patients’ nerves, allow for better range of motion, and help patients ensure that their hips are stable.

The Zimmer system employed a modular neck system that would be inserted into the hip’s femoral stem at a fixed angle. The patented Kinective technology allowed surgeons to adjust the degree of the angle. Surgeons used a taper to connect the two components.

Prior to the Kinectiv device, Zimmer designed another product, the Stryker Rejuvenate, which the FDA recalled in 2012. The company has paid billions of dollars to injured patients who received the Stryker hip implant after injured patients brought claims alleging negligence.

The FDA recalled the Zimmer M/L Taper Kinectiv Technology implant on the grounds that a higher than usual amount of manufacturing residue was found on the hip implant devices. The hip implant residue was not specifically identified, and the source of the residue was not clear.

In addition, the modular-neck technology employed with the device is widely considered as a cause of artificial joint corrosion and other adverse complications. Corrosion leading to injury is most likely to occur where the metal neck of the hip implant snaps onto the hip’s femoral stem.

Metal-on-metal grinding can cause pieces of metal to scrape off the device and become implanted in a patient’s surrounding tissue. Metal debris can even leak into the patient’s bloodstream, causing a dangerous condition called metallosis. When metal debris from the hip implant leaks into the bloodstream, the patient can suffer serious and dangerous levels of metal poisoning.

Metallosis is a dangerous medical condition that can cause high temperatures, tenderness, swelling, pain, inflammation, tenderness, and in some cases a gray discoloration of the skin that can be seen around the hip area. Metallosis can also cause the following dangerous conditions:

• Sudden changes in sight or hearing caused by metal poisoning that can result in a temporary or permanent hearing or vision loss;
• Infection of the hip joint caused by corrosion and metal debris can spread throughout the patient’s body. When a dangerous infection reaches the patient’s bloodstream, it can cause sepsis, which can lead to death;
• Necrosis of the tissue around the defective hip implant. Necrosis can damage a patient’s muscles and nerves and require corrective surgery to address the problem;
• Damage to a patient’s thyroid gland due to metal poisoning. When the thyroid becomes damaged, a patient can gain weight, develop goiters, and suffer other metabolic health issues. Healing the thyroid is not always possible, and patients may need to take medication for a long time;
• Respiratory problems caused by metal toxicity, which can cause breathlessness or difficulty breathing. Other respiratory diseases can cause damage, particularly if the patient’s lungs become infected;
• Cardiomyopathy and heart failure can also result from dangerous levels of toxic metal poisoning. When cobalt or chromium metal pieces enter the bloodstream, they can travel directly to the patient’s heart, poisoning the patient. Sudden heart failure and death can occur in severe cases.

If you or a loved one has suffered complications from Zimmer’s M/L Taper with Kinectiv Technology hip implant, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact our experienced product liability lawyers today to schedule a free initial consultation.