The first Zimmer Durom Cup product liability lawsuit went before a jury earlier this month. The trial was scheduled for Nov. 3 in St. Clair County Circuit Court of  Illinois.

The case is one of about 350 Zimmer Durom Cup lawsuits filed against Zimmer. The lawsuits claim that the hip replacement part  has caused problems in hundreds of individuals, and for many plaintiffs, the Zimmer Durom Cup required additional surgery to replace the device.

Illinois resident John. P alleges in the Zimmer hip lawsuit that he used a Zimmer Durom Cup in his hip surgery in 2008. However, just a short time later, he allegedly experienced problems that required surgery to manage. John’s case was the first Zimmer Durom Cup lawsuit that went before a jury. It is one of two test cases (bellwether trials) that will be used to ascertain how juries might respond in other Zimmer lawsuits and which allegations will be used.

The second bellwether trial is scheduled for Jan. 20, 2015 in California. In April, the first federal trial will begin.

Zimmer Durom Cup Problems

The Zimmer Durom Cup was first used in the U.S. in 2006. This new product was alleged to be more stable and dependable than other metal hip implants. Patients still, however, experienced many painful complications due to the Zimmer Durom Cup such as metal hip implant failure and cobalt poisoning. 

As of July 22,2008, the FDA had received many adverse side effects reports concerning the Zimmer Durom Cup. The primary problem was thought to be the acetabular cup loosening. This is the most common cause of metal hip implant failure.

Later that month, the FDA announced a voluntary Zimmer Durom Cup recall so that the warning labels and instructions could be adapted. The goal was to better inform doctors on how to implant the Durom Cup properly. The prior instructions were allegedly inadequate. 

Before the Zimmer Durom Cup recall, 12,000 individuals had the Zimmer Durom Cup implanted. While Zimmer suggested that the failure rates were almost 6%, other studies suggest that the Zimmer Durom Cup failure risks is closer to 20%-30%. Indeed, one study that examined metal-on-metal hip implant failures found that 78% of the participants had failed Zimmer Durom Cups due to acetabular cup loosening. This can cause many complications and side effects that may require a painful and/or expensive surgery to fix.

Hip replacement complications listed by Zimmer Durom Cup lawsuits include the following side effects:

• Failure of the implant leading to early replacement
• Dislocated Hip
• Toxic substances leaked into the bloodstream
• Cancer
• Degenerative Heart Disease
• Loss of bone strength 
• Tissue death
• Non-cancerous tumors around the implant
• Cobalt poisoning
• Metal poisoning

It is suggested that Zimmer hip settlements could be thousands of dollars to cover medical treatment.

Individuals like John P. have brought legal charges against Zimmer for the hip replacement complications allegedly caused by the Zimmer Durom Cup. Some have had to completely replace the metal-on-metal hip replacement, going with a metal-on-plastic or metal-on-ceramic instead.

A Zimmer Durom Cup MDL (multidistrict litigation) has been centralized in New Jersey, and a Zimmer Durom Cup class action lawsuit investigation is currently underway.