STRYKER HIP SETTLEMENT REACHED

Yesterday, Stryker agreed to settle thousands of hip cases filed over its Rejuvenate and ABG II modular-neck implants. The agreement was presented to Judge U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank in Minnesota. He is the presiding judge over the Stryker MDL.

More than 5,000 people in 39 states filed product-defect cases against Stryker over its Rejuvenate and ABG II modular-neck implants. The two models two models are ceramic-on-metal, modular-neck femoral hip implants. The models are different from the ASR and Pinnacle products, because they are not metal-on-metal in the traditional ball-in-cup sense.

Around 2,100 lawsuits are currently pending in New Jersey state court, while approximately 1,800 are pending in the MDL.

Stryker and its hip-implant subsidiary, Howmedica Osteonics, voluntarily pulled the two hip models off the market in 2012 after patients complained of pain and swelling from the devices. Blood and other medical tests revealed many patients with the implant had gotten metallosis, a toxic dose of metal in the blood caused by fraying and erosion of the implant.

The damages in the cases are not capped, and the company’s estimate of $1.425 billion in total payouts is considered a conservative estimate. Only patients whose artificial hips were replaced before Monday are eligible for the ­settlements, though a second round of settlements may be announced in the future.

If you or a loved one have had hip replacement surgery and have been implanted with a defective Stryker hip, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and other injuries. Pittman, Dutton & Hellums, P.C., is currently investigating claims for those people who have been implanted with Stryker hip replacement devices. If you would like a free case evaluation, please contact Booth Samuels at toll free 1-866-515-8880 or at booths@pittmandutton.com.

Stryker Hip Cases Consolidated in MDL

A federal judicial panel has created a consolidated docket for all lawsuits alleging injury caused by the Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II hip implant devices. The makers of the hip replacement system is a company named Howmedica Osteonics Corporation.

The Order from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) agreed to transfer nearly four dozen cases and all future Stryker hip claims to a single federal judge in Minnesota for coordinated pretrial proceedings. The Order came out today, June 12.

 

A consent order signed by the Minnesota court’s Chief Judge Michael James Davis indicated that the docket will be presided over by Judge Donovan W. Frank.

 

This just happens to be one more consolidated action in a long line of MDL’s concerning metal on metal hip defects. See my blog post from March of this year to learn more about the Stryker hips involved in this latest MDL.

 

The attorneys at Pittman, Dutton & Hellums, P.C., are investigating claims against Stryker for the Rejuvenate and ABG II hips. If you or a loved one have been implanted with a Stryker Rejuvenate Hip or the ABG II Modular Hip, contact Booth Samuels at booths@pittmandutton.com or toll free at 1-866-515-8880.

Stryker's Rejuvenate and ABG II May Be Worse Disaster Than DePuy's ASR

Stryker recalled its Rejuvenate and ABG II modular hip implant systems on July 6, 2012, after the implants showed signs of corroding and fretting – wear that occurs from the constant rubbing together of two pieces, causing bits of metal to crack or flake. Stryker aggressively marketed these products as safe and effective and claimed its patented metal mixture of titanium and cobalt chrome resisted corroding and fretting. Instead, after the devices were already implanted, the implant released bits of metal debris causing premature failure, pain, and tissue and bone death.

Metallosis, an injury attributed to metal-on-metal hips, is an adverse tissue reaction to heavy metals in the body. It can cause pain, limited mobility, failure of the hip joint, pseudo-tumors, dissolution of the bone, DNA changes and chromosomal aberrations. Typically, hip implants are expected to last 15 to 20 years. In some cases, the Stryker Rejuvenate hips are failing in less than five years.

Approximately 20,000 Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II devices were implanted between 2009 and 2012. Before the recall, Stryker acknowledged that it was aware of the problems by sending an Urgent Field Safety notice to doctors in April 2012. Stryker, based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is a subsidiary of Howmedica Osteonics Corporation of Mahwah, New Jersey.

The Stryker Rejuvenate hip implant is functionally different from other hip replacement devices that are being litigated because it is not a metal-on-metal hip replacement device. Instead, the Rejuvenate hip replacement device, which uses a ceramic component, was meant as an alternative to the metal-on-metal devices. Like the DePuy ASR, it was marketed to younger patients as a modular hip replacement, meaning the components were custom-made to fit patients better. This was supposed to result in longer-lasting hip replacement devices that offered a better range of motion.

Some patients reportedly developed metallosis from the Stryker Rejuvenate hip. It was initially believed that such a condition was not possible because the Stryker Rejuvenate does not have a metal-on-metal ball and socket design, which is basically what the DePuy ASR and Pinnacle models are.  However, it does have a metal neck piece that can, under some conditions, rub against a metal stem, causing metallic debris to come loose.

Stryker has responded to concerns about the Rejuvenate failure rate by alleging patients did not properly undergo rehabilitation following surgery, or by blaming doctors' implantation techniques. In a Product Correction Bulletin posted on April 4, 2012, Stryker representatives noted, "Factors such as diabetes and infection may play a role in potential corrosion of an implant as these conditions may affect the pH of the tissue surrounding the implant." To this writer, this claim is preposterous. How could elevated cobalt levels be attributed to diabetes, much less infection? I doubt this ‘blame the victim’ defense will hold up to a jury.

Lawsuits have already been filed in the United States over these devices. Many have been consolidated in the New Jersey Superior Court, Bergen County, Case 296. A case management conference has been scheduled regarding the Stryker Rejuvenate Hip Stem and the ABG II Modular Hip Stem litigation on March 19, 2013. It is not certain yet if other cases filed nationwide will be consolidated by the JPML into an MDL.

The attorneys at Pittman, Dutton & Hellums, P.C., are investigating claims against Stryker for the Rejuvenate and ABG II hips. If you or a loved one have been implanted with a Stryker Rejuvenate Hip or the ABG II Modular Hip, contact Booth Samuels at booths@pittmandutton.com or toll free at 1-866-515-8880.