Stryker Hip Implant

• Hundreds of people sued Stryker after it recalled 42,519 units of its LFIT V40 components, claiming they resulted in "higher than expected" complications.
• In 2018, the medical tech company agreed to an undisclosed settlement of the lawsuit over its LFIT V40 Femoral Head. Attorneys are now also investigating health complications related to Stryker’s Tritanium Acetabular Shells.
• There are almost 1,000 Stryker hip replacement lawsuits pending in federal and state courts as of August 2019.
• Based on the data that was found in the Class 1 FDA recall, it is evident that Stryker was aware of the issues that can result from using many of its products from the get-go.
• If you have suffered harm from using Stryker implant products, it is your right to seek compensation for your pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical bills, loss of earnings, and loss of quality and enjoyment of life.

Stryker Corporation is a Fortune 500 medical tech firm that has over 33,000 employees in over 100 countries. As of 2017, it had a total revenue of over $12.44 billion. The company designs, manufactures, and markets hip, knee, and spinal implants, foot and ankle devices, endoscopes, and computer-assisted surgery technology.

All of these products are created to improve a person’s quality of life; however, thousands of Stryker’s hip implants have resulted in the opposite.

Stryker total hip replacement devices are made of cobalt, chromium, and titanium, and the use of these metals has been associated with numerous problems and "unique risks" that lead to serious complications among patients. The plaintiffs alleged that defective implants resulted in severe pain when their metal components became eroded and released toxic ions into their bodies.

Hip replacement surgeries are becoming increasingly popular as Americans are living longer and more active lives. According to the Agency for Healthcare and Quality, an average of 300,000 hip replacement surgeries are performed in the United States each year.

But the question is whether these implant surgeries are safe. Although there is no question that hip implants have benefited millions of people, some have had incredibly adverse complications to the surgery, which have resulted in expensive revision surgery. In many cases, patients who underwent corrective surgery never felt the same after the complications.

Several hip replacement devices from Stryker have been subjected to recalls and lawsuits. If you have had a Stryker hip replacement and have suffered from complications because of it, you may be eligible to participate in a Stryker implant class action lawsuit.

Stryker hip implants have a metal-on-metal (MoM) design, which is responsible for a lot of complications. When the metal ball and the metal socket rub against each other, they become corroded, leading to the deterioration of the hip implants.

To make matters worse, the tiny metal particles are released in the bloodstream, which can increase the risk of the patient becoming a victim to metallosis, joint dislocation, necrosis, and other issues. Because of the high concentration of toxic metal cobalt and chromium ions in the bloodstream, patients can also become susceptible to cardiac and neurological diseases in the future.

Additionally, medical agencies around the world have expressed concerns with these implants. In 2010, the United Kingdom’s Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued an alert recommending patients to get a blood test and imaging to make sure that they do not have blood poisoning because of the metal implants. In 2012, the MHRA issued a follow-up with guidelines on how to monitor and care for MoM replacement patients.

In 2012, Health Canada also issued safety information for MoM patients and stated 14.2% of revised hip implants resulted in “soft tissue reactions,” including fluid collection and pseudotumors.

Moreover, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has advised patients to take the following measures if their hip implants aren't working as they are supposed to:

• Removing fluid from around the joints
• Blood tests including metal ion tests
• Soft tissue imaging

The agency also warned patients to be extra-aware of their overall health condition after getting a hip implant surgery as it can lead to other adverse reactions in the body, including:

• Skin rash
• Hypersensitivity
• Cardiomyopathy
• Renal disorders
• Thyroid dysfunctionNeurological changes
• Depression or cognitive disorders

In 2016, Stryker Corporation itself issued a hazard alert that warned doctors and patients that seven models of Stryker V40 femoral heads could cause some side effects such as:

• Loss of movement
• Severe thigh and groin pain
• Dislocation of the hip joint
• Seizures
• Vertigo
• Goiters
• Chronic pain
• Inflammation
• Dislocation
• Broken bones
• Bone loss
• Unstable joint
• Leg length discrepancy
• Lack of soft tissue tension
• Poor bone fixation
• Squeaking and popping noise

Complications from Stryker's hip implants usually require another corrective surgery to replace the defective implant with another one and a lengthy period of recovery that patients claim are more painful and difficult than the first surgery. Many patients had to have multiple revision operations, and many are demanding compensation for their medical bills, pain, future care, and lost wages.

LFIT V40 Femoral Head Settlement

Hundreds of people sued Stryker after it recalled 42,519 units of its LFIT V40 components, claiming they resulted in "higher than expected" complications. On Nov. 2, 2018, Stryker announced an initial settlement agreement with the plaintiffs who used its LFIT V40 Femoral Head. In August 2019, there were still 689 pending lawsuits in the MDL in Minnesota federal court.

The federal court confirmed that the agreement would accommodate another hundred lawsuits combined in a multi-county litigation (MCL) in New Jersey. The amount of the settlement remained undisclosed as both parties reached an agreement.

Personal injury attorneys are accepting new cases involving injuries due to Stryker’s Tritanium Acetabular Shells. Tritanium is a titanium alloy created by Stryker and is used in several of the company's devices. The Tritanium Acetabular Shells replace the socket in the hip joint. The material was designed to promote bone growth into and around the shell, which will offer the device more stability. However, some patients alleged this did not happen, and their artificial hips became loose.

A study in 2018 described patients who ended up in hospitals due to device dislocation that ended in severe groin and hip pain. Another study published in the Journal of Orthopedic Proceedings found issues with the device's components, which could lead to eventual loosening.

Even if you are not currently experiencing any issues with your Stryker total hip replacement devices, problems can still develop later. Therefore, it is important to contact your surgeon and ask them about your medical documents so that you can see whether you have been implanted with Stryker products. The following Stryker LFIT Anatomic V40 femoral heads (often found in the Accolade) have also been recalled:

In October 2009, Mern Direnzo received Stryker’s Accolade TMZF and LFIT Anatomic V40 Femoral Head during his hip replacement surgery. Shortly after, her tests showed elevated levels of metal ions in her blood and urine. Direnzo had to undergo another surgery to remove the defective product. She filed the lawsuit in 2014, alleging Stryker failed to manufacture the product in such a way that it would not corrode, fret, deteriorate, or induce metal toxicity in patients.

Branko Obradovic, a 73-year-old man from Boynton Beach, said he needed to get revision surgery two years after he received a Stryker hip replacement. News reports said that he was unable to sit for long periods of time and getting out of the car was very challenging for him.

Tracy Sponer, a resident of North Little Rock, Arkansas, received a Rejuvenate hip implant in the fall of 2011. Just one year later, she was forced to get a revision surgery after the implant failed. Additionally, the implant failure and revision surgery resulted in constant physical and mental anguish. Sponer’s lawsuit requested the court award punitive damages to Stryker for “flagrant disregard of human life.”

In 2012, Stryker Corporation ordered a recall of two types of MoM hip implants, the ABG II Modular-Neck and the Rejuvenate Modular hip stems, after it discovered that its metal components can corrode resulting in pain and inflammation in the surrounding tissue. Over 9,000 ABG II and 44,000 Rejuvenate implants were recalled, and the company also sent out an Urgent Field Safety Notice that stated corrosion could result in metallosis, necrosis, implant failure and severe pain for patients, which can affect not just the surrounding tissues but heart, nervous, and thyroid health as well.

In late 2013, Judge Brian R. Martinotti of New Jersey ordered the first phase of mediation for multidistrict litigation (MDL). Ten cases underwent mediation; the New Jersey court selected six cases, the counsel for the plaintiffs selected two cases, and the counsel for the defendants selected two cases.

In 2014, Stryker agreed to pay a settlement of $1.43 billion to patients who used its Rejuvenate and ABGII hip stems. In 2016, the settlement extended to even more patients, raising the compensation amount to over $2 billion. The average settlement amount each patient received for the damages was $600,000. The deadline to file a lawsuit under that settlement was March 2017, and Stryker expected all payments to be made by the end of 2017.

Meanwhile, discovery is underway in Case No. 2441, a federal MDL assigned to the U.S. District Court in Minnesota. Judge Donovan Frank has ordered plaintiffs to coordinate with the New Jersey lead counsel to prevent duplication. Although federal and state cases related to Stryker hip implant follow separate court proceedings and rules, if a settlement is reached in one system, it can impact the outcome of other systems.

If you or your loved one has received a Stryker hip implant and suffered from complications like metal poisoning, necrosis, device failure, inflammation, or bone loss because of the defective product, contact Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers today.

Depending on your case, you may have a chance to pursue a settlement for the following damages:

• Medical expenses: A bad hip implant requires a revision surgery, which replaces the defective prosthetic with a good one. A defective hip implant can also be responsible for other complications such as blood clots and infections, which may require further medical treatment and generate more bills for you.
• Physical and Mental Pain and Suffering: Recovering from a first surgery is difficult and painful enough and can take several months. On top of that, if you need to have revision surgery, it can lead to more pain and mental anguish. Additionally, patients who had to resort to revision surgery often had lingering pain and health issues even after the defective hip implant was removed. Our class action lawyers can review your medical document to see how much pain and suffering you had to endure.
• Lost Current and Future Wages: If you had a bad hip replacement, you will need to spend several days at a hospital. This means that if you have a job, it would require you to miss several days’ worth of work time and wages. We can help you seek damages to recover from lost income.

The Statute of Limitations to file a class action lawsuit against Stryker will vary from state-to-state. However, if you exhibit symptoms relevant to the Stryker Hip Implant, we encourage you to contact our seasoned personal injury attorneys at your earliest convenience.

Please note, if you wait and the statute of limitation passes, it may not be possible for you to file a claim against Stryker. Therefore, it is very important that you consult with Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers as soon as possible for legal guidance and to find out how the statute of limitations may affect your case.

There are almost 1,000 Stryker hip replacement lawsuits pending in federal and state courts as of August 2019. In 2018, the medical tech company agreed to an undisclosed settlement of the lawsuit over its LFIT V40 Femoral Head. Attorneys are now also investigating health complications related to Stryker’s Tritanium Acetabular Shells. Based on the data that was found in the Class 1 FDA recall, it is evident that Stryker was aware of the issues that can result from using many of its products from the get-go.

If you have suffered harm from any of the Stryker implant products, it is your right to ask for compensation for your pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical bills, loss of earnings, and loss of quality and enjoyment of life. The liability of all that has befallen you for using the implants could possibly fall on Stryker alone.

At Frankl Kominsky, our personal injury lawyers will review all the facts of your case and assist in determining the value of your claim so that you can seek a fair settlement to fulfill your current and future needs. If the case cannot be handled out of court, we will be prepared to take it to court, either as an individual lawsuit, a class action lawsuit, or as an MDL.

Contact us at 855-919-2722 so that we can schedule a consultation appointment for you to discuss the merits of your claim. The initial appointment is complimentary. We also offer contingency fee arrangements for any product liability, bad drug, wrongful death, and personal injury claims. This policy allows you to delay the payment of our legal services until you have either settled your case successfully or won your damages through a jury verdict. Therefore, you will not have to pay anything out-of-pocket until and if you win your case.

We offer full confidentiality to our clients, so you can be certain that the details of your sensitive case will not be leaked to any outside party.

Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers can be reached at 855-919-2722 or you can fill out a free online form to get started.