Plaintiff Martin D. filed a Zimmer hip replacement lawsuit on July 20, 2017 in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

This Zimmer hip replacement lawsuit concerns the Durom acetabular component which is also known as the Durom cup. This was implanted into the plaintiff on June 5, 2009. It was part of a left hip replacement which resulted in an early revision surgery five years later on June 24, 2014.

According to the legal documentation in this Zimmer hip replacement lawsuit, Martin D. suffered a great deal of pain and agony as well as severe restriction of his daily activities. The pain is attributed to the tendency of the Durom cup to pop free or loosen from the pelvic cage, an event which can damage the bone itself.

The Durom cup was designed to facilitate the growing of the patient’s bone into the exterior shell by the application of a titanium spray coating. Martin alleges the spray coating failed to function in the manner for which it was intended, and stabilizing bone growth did not occur to hold it in place.

Revision surgeries can be more surgically complicated than the original total hip arthroscopy (THR). The wearing of the bone in this and other cases like it, can mean that there is less bone surface with which the surgeon can work. The length of time in surgery can be longer as well due to complications and open the patient up to a higher level of risk.

In this Zimmer hip replacement lawsuit, the plaintiff states that he experienced so much bone damage that despite a complete change out of the Durom cup, the left hip dislocated on two other separate occasions causing excruciating pain. Finally, on June 28, 2016, he had to have another revision surgery because of the original Durom Cup bone damage.

The Durom Cup History

The Zimmer Company applied for pre-market approval of the Durom acetabular cup under the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) 510(k) program. The 510(k) program allows products to be introduced to the market without the full testing usually applied to new medical devices.

The review process amounts to proving that the product in question is extremely similar if not identical in function to a drug or device already being sold. Zimmer was cleared by the FDA to market the Durom cup on March 19, 2006 without new clinical studies for safety or efficacy.

According to the legal documentation in this Zimmer hip replacement lawsuit, the Durom cup is a component part of a metal-on-metal hip prosthetic unit which was highly advertised and promoted by Zimmer as more durable than metal-on-polyethylene units.

When reports started to come back that the Durom cup had a higher than expected rate of failure, the company allegedly denied the validity of the reports and blamed the implanting surgeons, claiming they needed more training.

Although there was a brief suspension in sales in 2008, to date, there has been no recall of Durom acetabular cups. The plaintiff, Martin D., is bringing the following complaints against Zimmer Inc.: Failure to Warn and Instruct, Design Defect, Manufacturing Defect and Failure to Adhere to Quality Controls, Negligence, Negligence Per Se, Breach of Implied Warranty, Breach of Express Warranty, Negligent Misrepresentation, Intentional Misrepresentation, Constructive Fraud, Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices, Unjust Enrichment, and Punitive Damages.

The plaintiff is asking for a trial by jury, compensatory damages to include offset for economic suffering in the form of medical bills, and non-financial suffering in physical pain and psychological pain. He also wishes for all court and attorney fees to be returned as well as punitive damages to be assessed.

The Zimmer Hip Replacement Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-05287-SDW-SCM in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.