A metal-on-metal hip implant complications lawsuit was filed by an Illinois man who alleged his Stryker brand implant was defective.

Plaintiff Rick Weiland’s metal hip replacement lawsuit alleges the Stryker hip implant caused serious complications.

In his Stryker hip lawsuit, Weiland states that he first received his Stryker hip implant in January 2011. After the procedure, he suffered severe pain in the hip, which led to a series of medical examinations and tests. It was discovered that Weiland had elevated levels of metal ions in this blood, including cobalt, part of the alloy in his Stryker hip implant.

Weiland’s metal-on-metal hip implant lawsuit seeks to recoup costs related to his alleged artificial hip joint problems, including medical costs for corrective surgery, rehabilitation, and pain and suffering.

Hip implants are artificial hip joints, designed to replace a joint that has failed due to age, injury or disease. One of the most important components of artificial hip joints is the interfacing surfaces, the parts of the joint that form the ball and socket. These surfaces move against each other, and their composition is critical. The earliest artificial hip joints were made out of ivory, but most modern models use polymer, ceramic, or sometimes metal to replace the ball and socket. However, in the early 2000s, several companies released metal-on-metal hip implants, which had metal surfaces for both the ball and the socket of the joint.

Metal-on-metal hip implants have been the subject of lawsuits, recalls and scrutiny. Allegedly, there are several problems with these designs, many of which stem from having two metal surfaces rubbing against each other. In metal-on-metal hip implants, the metal surfaces can grind off microscopic metal flakes. In this form, the metal can more easily dissolve and form toxic metal ions, allegedly causing disabling irritation around the joint, the growth of pseudotumors, and even widespread systemic problems like heart and neurological problems.

The metal-on-metal hip implants were able to avoid some of the required testing for medical implants. Under a program called the 501(k) program, a medical device may skip many of the required steps of safety testing if it is “substantially similar” to existing programs. The recall of metal-on-metal hip implants, as well as other medical implants like vaginal mesh and others have led to a reexamination of this program.

The Stryker Hip Implant Lawsuit is Rick Wieland v. Howmedical Osteonics Corporation, et al., Case No. 1:13-cv-01398-MMM-JAG, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Peoria Division, within the Stryker Hip MDL In Re: Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2441, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.