A married couple from Jackson County, Mo. has joined the large-scale litigation over Biomet hip implants. Claims from the couple’s Biomet metal hip implant lawsuit echo many of the claims made in the large Biomet litigation.

In this Biomet metal hip implant lawsuit, plaintiffs Ellen G. and Raymond G. allege that when Ellen had a Biomet hip implanted in her body, it caused her serious complications.

Ellen had the hip replacement surgery when the Biomet metal on metal hip implant was installed in a Kansas City, Mo. hospital in 2007. According to the text of her Biomet metal hip implant lawsuit, Ellen subsequently suffered from metallosis, a toxic buildup of metal ions in her blood, as well as tissue reaction around the Biomet hip implant.

These problems allegedly required surgical removal and replacement of the Biomet hip implant with another hip implants.

Ellen and Raymond allege that the makers of the Biomet hip implant were aware of these risks and marketed the Biomet hip implant anyway. The couples’ Biomet hip implant seeks to recoup the cost of medical care, as well as other costs allegedly linked to the Biomet hip implant such as legal fees, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other fees.

Biomet metal implants are a type of artificial hip implant designed to take the place of a damaged hip implant, specifically, a metal-on-metal hip implant. Biomet metal hip implants, like other metal-on-metal hip implants, are alleged to be more prone to complications than other types of hip implants due to dangerous design flaws.

In most hip implants, the moving surfaces of the hip are made of polymer, ceramic, or in very old hip implants, ivory. However, in the early 2000s, a number of companies, including Biomet began to manufacture metal-on-metal hip implants, which had metal interfacing surfaces.

Since metal hip implants like the Biomet hip were based on existing hip implant technology, they were able to take advantage of the FDA’s 501(k) program, a program that allows medical companies to skip most phases of FDA testing if a product is “substantially similar” to existing technology. In this case, it appears that the 501(k) may have allowed a dangerous technology into circulation.

Allegedly, metal hip implants like the Biomet hip implants may carry special risks not seen in other types of hip implants. Many of the alleged problems may stem from the metal of the interfacing surfaces. While the alloys of cobalt and chromium are normally safe for use in the human body, the action of the joint may allegedly grind off microscopic flakes of these materials, which may more readily dissolve into toxic ions in bodily fluids.

This can allegedly promote inflammation around the implant, as well as the formation of painful tumor-like growths called pseudotumors around the implant. Additionally, metal hip implants like the Biomet hip implants are allegedly more prone to failure than other types of hip implants.

The Biomet Metal Hip Implant Lawsuit is Case No. 3:14-cv-2099, filed within the larger Biomet hip MDL, In Re: Biomet M2A Magnum Hip Implant Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2391, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division.