ARTIFICIAL HIP IMPLANTS

Product

Biomet (M2a)
DePuy (ASR, Pinnacle)
Smith & Nephew (R3)
Stryker (ABGII, Rejuvenate)
Wright Medical (Conserve)
Zimmer (Durom)

Drug Class

Medical device

Indication for Use

Hip replacement

Injuries

Hip replacement

About

Total hip arthroplasty (hip replacement) works to reduce or eliminate pain and increase mobility for people experiencing hip pain or loss when conservative management and treatment has failed.

Defective hip implants can loosen or become misaligned over time, causing pain and requiring revision surgery to correct. Patients who have received metal-on-metal hip implants can develop metallosis (metal poisoning), also requiring replacement. In June of 2012, a panel of FDA commissioned experts reported that there was no reason for surgeons to continue using metal-on-metal hip replacement systems. Although concerns remain about the durability of ceramic hip implants, studies have shown that the majority of adverse patient outcomes involve metal-on-metal hip implants, prompting the FDA to order postmarket studies of metal-on-metal hip systems that resulted in recalls of hip devices.

Due to the large number of pending and potential lawsuits, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has coordinated federal proceedings into Multi District Litigations (MDL) in Ohio, New Jersey, and Texas against manufacturers DePuy and Zimmer. State court cases against several different manufacturers are pending, including a Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding (JCCP) for DePuy hip implant lawsuits in San Francisco (JCCP 10-004649).

Firm partner Steven J. Skikos was appointed as Plaintiffs’ Co-lead Counsel, part of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, for the MDL No. 2197 in Ohio. Partner Mark Crawford has been appointed to serve on the Discovery Committee for the federal MDL.