Kim Gale  |  January 19, 2018

Category: Legal News

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Doctor examining his patient back in medical officeA woman and her husband have filed a Stryker V40 lawsuit against Howmedica Osteonics Corp. alleging her hip implant prematurely failed.

Plaintiff Tacsonia B. alleged she had her right hip implanted with a Stryker LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 femoral head and Accolade TMZF femoral stem in late October 2009. Tacsonia had the Stryker V40 femoral head removed in March 2016.

According to the lawsuit, her injuries resulted in ongoing pain and economic loss. Her husband claims loss of services and loss of consortium due to his wife’s injuries.

Stryker V40 Lawsuit Alleges Negligence

One of the alleged problems with the Stryker V40 femoral head is that the cobalt and chromium alloy, when matched with different metals in the TMZF stem, may produce metal-on-metal corrosion. Patients allege Howmedica was negligent in designing the metal femoral head because where the head and neck pieces meet, they can corrode to the extent that the patient suffers catastrophic disassociation of the hip. Doctors also have said the stem is too small to truly secure the head.

The stems include a rough surface that is intended to encourage bone growth, which is supposed to act as a natural stabilizer. That stem is then a permanent fixture of the femur, which often needs to be broken to accommodate removal of the defective components. In some cases, the femur must be cut in half to remove the stem.

When bone has grown deeply into the stem after a period of time, some surgeons refuse to perform the operation because they believe the surgery will be too complicated and risky.

According to the lawsuit, the metal-on metal hip system can releases tiny particles of metals into the surrounding tissue as the parts rub against each other when the patient is in motion. These tiny metal pieces can cause nearby tissue to die or to develop pseudotumors. Metal ions can also seep into the bones and the blood stream, causing metal poisoning. A blood test can measure the level of metals in a person’s system.

Stryker V40 Lawsuit Joins MDL

Tacsonia’s Stryker V40 lawsuit is part of an MDL that alleges Stryker violated FDA requirements. These alleged violations allowed the company to hide the fact that the hip components were causing serious injuries.

According to the Stryker V40 lawsuit, the following are just some of the aspects of the FDA statutes and regulations that Stryker violated:

  • “falsely and misleadingly” promoting the V40 femoral head;
  • failing to report adverse events to the FDA;
  • failing to conduct investigations and analyses in a timely manner;
  • failing to report “any and all information concerning product failures and corrections” in a timely manner;
  • failing to immediately disclose the risk of metal poisoning from the corrosion of the components after implantation.

The Stryker V40 Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-md-12546-IT and is part of the Stryker LFIT V40 MDLIn re: Stryker LFIT V40 Femoral Head Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2768, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The hip implant attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, metal hip implant lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

Learn More

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.


Get Help – It’s Free

Join a Free Stryker Metal Hip Replacement Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

An attorney will contact you if you qualify to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you.

Please Note: If you want to participate in this investigation, it is imperative that you reply to the law firm if they call or email you. Failing to do so may result in you not getting signed up as a client, if you qualify, or getting you dropped as a client.

Email any problems with this form to questions@topclassactions.com.

Oops! We could not locate your form.

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.