To date, in excess of 1200 lawsuits have been filed with more filings daily. Stryker has reported that its liability could exceed $1B.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Stryker Settles More Rejuvenate and ABG II Hip Claims: Projects Liability Exceeding $1B
Five of the Eight Stryker Rejuvenate/ABG II failed hip cases have settled at court ordered mediation early in the litigation process. Before removing the systems from the market, approximately 20,000 were sold.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Biomet Agrees To Settlement of Metal on Metal Hips
Biomet, Inc. has agreed to pay at least $56 million to settle claims involving their metal on metal hips known as the M2a Magnum. The lawsuits were consolidated in Indiana, home to Biomet's headquarters.
In order to qualify, you must file suit in Federal Court by April 15, 2014. The base award is $200,000 and applies to individuals who had the implant installed and removed more than 180 days after it was implanted.
Biomet has denied liability and never recalled the hip system; however, it is doubtful any surgeons are implanting metal on metal hip devices in light of the massive failure rates seen with this class of implants.
If you think you may have a Biomet metal on metal hip, please act immediately. If you have any questions or would like your claims evaluated, please feel free to contact me at 1.866.515.8880 or email me at ChrisH@PittmanDutton.com
In order to qualify, you must file suit in Federal Court by April 15, 2014. The base award is $200,000 and applies to individuals who had the implant installed and removed more than 180 days after it was implanted.
Biomet has denied liability and never recalled the hip system; however, it is doubtful any surgeons are implanting metal on metal hip devices in light of the massive failure rates seen with this class of implants.
If you think you may have a Biomet metal on metal hip, please act immediately. If you have any questions or would like your claims evaluated, please feel free to contact me at 1.866.515.8880 or email me at ChrisH@PittmanDutton.com
Life Imitates Art: Episode of "House" Results in Diagnosis of Failed Hip Implant
Dr. Juergen Schaefer, who specializes in puzzling cases, is a big fan of the t.v. show "House." In, 2012, in a case of life imitating art, he was presented with a case straight off the pages of the show.
According to The Lancet, a London-based medical journal, a German man presented at this clinic with strange symptoms that continued to worsen. He had low thyroid levels, inflammation of his esophagus and fever. His lost so much vision he was almost blind and so much hearing he was almost deaf. His heart was so weak he could not supply enough blood to his body. However, he did not have any problems with his arteries.
No one could diagnose the problem.
Remembering an episode of House, he recalled the same problems suffered by a woman played by the actress Candice Bergen. So, Dr. Schaefer tested the man's cobalt level and determined that it was several times the level considered normal. He then preformed a scan of the hip and determined that his metal hip had eroded. The hip implant was removed, cobalt levels fell and his heart function improved; however, his eyesight and hearing barely got better.
According to The Lancet, a London-based medical journal, a German man presented at this clinic with strange symptoms that continued to worsen. He had low thyroid levels, inflammation of his esophagus and fever. His lost so much vision he was almost blind and so much hearing he was almost deaf. His heart was so weak he could not supply enough blood to his body. However, he did not have any problems with his arteries.
No one could diagnose the problem.
Remembering an episode of House, he recalled the same problems suffered by a woman played by the actress Candice Bergen. So, Dr. Schaefer tested the man's cobalt level and determined that it was several times the level considered normal. He then preformed a scan of the hip and determined that his metal hip had eroded. The hip implant was removed, cobalt levels fell and his heart function improved; however, his eyesight and hearing barely got better.
Failed Hip Implants Result in Heart Transplant
A New England Journal of Medicine article recently outlined the tragic facts regarding a Denver woman. The woman, whose identity was kept secret to protect her privacy, began having symptoms in 2011. She gained 10 pounds on her 4'10" frame. He abdomen was swollen, as were her arms and legs.
Doctors ordered a CT scan of her heart. They drained the fluid, but she still felt ill. Normally, with these symptoms, you would have an enlarged heart, but her's was normal. She was seen by a transplant surgeon, who was baffled. Her work-up revealed nothing. She was placed on a transplant list and in September of 2011, she received a heart transplant.
Sometime later, orthopedic surgeons who had replaced her metal hips took blood test related to metal hips. It was at this time that her cobalt level was more than 300 times the normal rate. Cobalt poisoning can seriously damage organs, particularly the heart. The implants were removed and her cobalt level declined. In an interview, she said "[I] have much of my old energy back."
The link to metal implants leaves many unanswered questions. Tens of thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of people have these implants and unfortunately these types of problems continue to be reported.
It is for this reason that anyone with a metal implant should have regular blood tests for cobalt and chromium.
Doctors ordered a CT scan of her heart. They drained the fluid, but she still felt ill. Normally, with these symptoms, you would have an enlarged heart, but her's was normal. She was seen by a transplant surgeon, who was baffled. Her work-up revealed nothing. She was placed on a transplant list and in September of 2011, she received a heart transplant.
Sometime later, orthopedic surgeons who had replaced her metal hips took blood test related to metal hips. It was at this time that her cobalt level was more than 300 times the normal rate. Cobalt poisoning can seriously damage organs, particularly the heart. The implants were removed and her cobalt level declined. In an interview, she said "[I] have much of my old energy back."
The link to metal implants leaves many unanswered questions. Tens of thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of people have these implants and unfortunately these types of problems continue to be reported.
It is for this reason that anyone with a metal implant should have regular blood tests for cobalt and chromium.
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