In the first plaintiff’s victory for the Zimmer Durom Cup hip implant litigation, a Los Angeles jury has awarded $9.2 million to a man who reportedly experienced severe complications from the metal hip implant. This is the first verdict out of several hundred pending metal hip implant lawsuits.

According to the Durom Cup lawsuit, plaintiff Gary K. experienced complications soon after having the Durom cup implanted.

While the trial over the defective product lasted three weeks, the Los Angeles Superior Court jury deliberated for only three and a half hours before awarding Gary $6.4 million for future non-economic damages, $2.6 million for past non-economic damages, and $153,000 in medical costs. The jury found the defendant company, Zimmer, guilty of failure to warn and negligent design of a defective product.

Overview of Metal Hip Implant Allegations

Approximately 12,000 patients have received Zimmer Durom Cup metal hip implant systems between 2006 and 2008. According to legal documents, Zimmer representatives states that the system’s failure rate in 2008 was as high as 5.7 percent. Other experts, however, have suggested that as many as 20 to 30 percent of Durom Cup patients may experience premature problems with the implant.

Hip replacement technology replaces damaged or fractured pelvic bones in patients. Originally, there were only plastic or ceramic models available for patients who needed to have these bones replaced. These hip replacement devices consist of three basic parts that include a stem that is inserted into the femur, a ball that attaches to the top of the femur, and a cup that attaches to the pelvis.

As the popularity of hip implants grew, manufacturers looked for new designs. The release of metal-on-metal hip implants offered an alternative, but came with a number of complications, such as: corrosion and metal ions released into the patient’s bloodstream.

The Zimmer Durom Cup is a metal hip implant system that was introduced in the United States in 2006, and quickly became a popular choice for patients and doctors. Unfortunately, patients started experiencing complications commonly associated with metal hip implants not long after its release. These Zimmer metal hip implant side effects include corrosion, fretting, infection, device failure, and metallosis. A number of these patients required revision surgery to have the device removed or replaced. There are currently at least 300 consolidated lawsuits in the Zimmer Durom Cup litigation in the District of New Jersey.