An Arkansas resident recently filed a metal hip implant lawsuit against Biomet Inc., alleging that the company’s M2a Magnum hip implant was defective.

Plaintiff Virgil B. claims that the Biomet metal hip implant was defective and led to additional surgical procedures, permanent harm, medical expenses, physical scarring, disfigurement, impaired mobility, and mental and emotional suffering.

According to the Biomet hip lawsuit, Virgil underwent a total hip replacement in October 2013. He was implanted with a Biomet M2 Magnum System, which is a metal-on-metal device.

Less than a year later, Virgil experienced severe pain in his right hip. He underwent hip revision surgery to remove and replace several components of the hip implant device.

The Biomet metal hip implant lawsuit claims that the M2a Magnum is not only defective, but was not adequately tested.

The hip implant lawsuit further alleges that Biomet was aware that their device was defective. Not only did the company know that their device was defective, but was aware that the metal hip implant had injured other patients, and would injure the plaintiff.

Biomet Metal Hip Implant Systems

The M2a Magnum Hip System, as well as other metal-on-metal hip implant systems like it, was developed in order to effectively reconstruct human hip joints. These joints may need implants because of conditions such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, avascular necrosis, and/or fracture.

While most hip implants have metal balls fixed on top of a femoral stem implanted on the femur and then placed inside plastic liner and an acetabular shell, the M2a Magnum Hip System’s design places the metal ball directly in contact with another metal piece, the metal acetabular shell.

However, according to the Biomet lawsuit, this design was never approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as safe or effective, further claiming that the system was insufficiently tested by the defendants.

Biomet Allegedly Concealed Risks

Court documents indicate that, on numerous occasions, Biomet representatives met with orthopedic surgeons across the United States and defended the M2a Magnum Hip Implant as safe, as well as the best product on the market.

Biomet allegedly continued to claim in these meetings that Biomet M2a Magnum Hip Implants had an excellent track record and a low and acceptable failure rate. These defenses continued even after they became aware of the numerous hip implant complications with their system.

The M2a Magnum Hip System, as well as other Biomet hip implant systems, is critically important to Biomet sales. Instead of recalling the allegedly defective product, Biomet continued to market the hip implant system as safe and effective to maintain sales, putting profits before patient safety.

If you or someone you know has experienced complications due to a metal-on-metal hip implant from Biomet or another company, you may be able to file a lawsuit.

The Biomet Metal Hip Implant Lawsuit is Case No. 1:15-cv-00317-RLM-CAN, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division.