New York plaintiff Jose U. is suing Stryker Corporation for allegedly causing him to suffer debilitating injuries. Jose claims that as a result of using their metal-on-metal hip implant, the Rejuvenate modular hip system, he suffered from several complications, including metallosis.

In order to live an active life, Jose had opted to have the Stryker Rejuvenate system put in to replace the right hip after reporting pain in his joints to his physician. The Rejuvenate system was recommend to the plaintiff after his physician had reviewed the defendant’s advertisements regarding the device’s acclaimed efficiency, according to the hip implant lawsuit.

On May 10, 2010, Jose underwent complete right hip replacement surgery, and initially responded well to the metal hip implant. However, Jose soon started suffering painful symptoms sometime after the procedure, which eventually led to several diagnostic tests. After being tested, his physician confirmed that Jose was suffering from complications related to the design defects of the metal hip implant including blood-metal poisoning, or metallosis.

As of now, Jose has not scheduled his revision surgery to remove the metal hip implant, but is expected to do so in the near future. Jose is taking legal action against Stryker Corporation for the injuries he allegedly suffered from their metal hip implant, claiming that the company failed to protect him against the adverse effects of their product. The plaintiff’s legal representatives state that the defendant had the civil responsibility of warning their client and their other consumers against all possible side effects of their product. This is because Jose, as well other Stryker hip implant consumers, rely on the accuracy of the given information.

In his Stryker lawsuit, Jose claims that at no point before or after his metal hip implant was inserted did the defendant notify him or his physician of these complications. Jose claims that he never would have chosen to use the Rejuvenate hip system if he had known about the possible complications he could suffer.

Jose is suing Stryker Corporation for being allegedly responsible for manufacturing, selling, distributing, and marketing a dangerous product. The charges include: negligence, false advertising, concealing information, and misrepresenting a product.

This Metal Hip Implant Lawsuit is filed in 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.

Overview of Metal Hip Implant Complications

The art of hip replacement surgery is a delicate one, where an aged or injured hip joint is repaired or replaced with an artificial limb. With the original hip implants being plastic or ceramic, and having minimal problems, experts find it easy to understand why the complications associated with metal hip implants came as such a shock.

Ideally, these metal hip implants would allow patients to live a healthier and more active lifestyle, as they would no longer be hindered by lower joint pain. Metal hip implants are especially popular among younger patients, because they can handle more physically demanding activities, and can be custom-fit to specific frames. When metal hip implants were first released, they were advertised to be overtly superior to their plastic or ceramic cousins, acclaimed for greater durability and longevity. However, the side effects that could be experienced by patients were widely unknown, with many patients finding out firsthand.

Medical experts believe that the reason for so many unexpected complications was due to how the metal hip implants were approved, which was through the FDA’s 510(k) policy. Under this program, a device can be approved to go to market as long as it works at an equivalent level with a similar product. Preclinical studies and other pre-market testing is not necessary, if approved under this policy. The complications patients mention in injury reports include metallosis, formation of pseudotumor, infection, pain, corrosion, and device failure.