Howmedica faces a lawsuit from a consumer alleging that a defective Stryker LFIT hip caused him to sustain serious injury and need revision surgery.

Plaintiff David B. recently filed a lawsuit against Howmedica Osteonics Corp. alleging that a defective Stryker LFIT hip left him with lasting joint damage and required revision surgery to fix.

According to the complaint, David previously had a hip replacement surgery where he was implanted with a Stryker hip replacement stem and femoral head. The original surgery occurred in August 2005. In November 2007, he says he had the femoral head replaced with a Stryker LFIT V40 femoral head but retained the femoral stem from his previous hip replacement.

After experiencing complications and high levels from chromium and cobalt in his bloodstream, David says he had the femoral head explanted in October 2016.

David argues that he needed revision surgery to have his femoral head replaced due to the faulty nature of the defective Stryker LFIT hip. In addition to his own personal injury, David’s wife claims she sustained a loss of services and loss of consortium due to the damage David sustained as a result of the allegedly defective Stryker LFIT hip.

The LFIT V40 femoral head attaches to a femoral stem through a “taper junction” where conflicting angles reportedly secure the joint. David argues that this joint’s design is faulty and can lead to micro-fretting.

As the two metal pieces rub together, the joint can release metal debris into the body and surrounding tissues. In severe cases, the fretting of the joint can result in the femoral head falling off the femoral stem. This event is known as catastrophic dissociation and has only been recorded in the allegedly defective Stryker LFIT hip.

Following consumer reports similar to David’s, Howmedica recalled the defective Stryker LFIT hip in August 2016. The recall cited various reasons for the recall including dislocation of the femoral head from the hip stem, fractured hip stem trunnions, excessive metallic debris, and excessive wear debris.

Complications caused by the reportedly defective Stryker LFIT hip are allegedly caused by the release of metal particles. Consumers have reported experiencing numerous symptoms due to metallic debris including pain, limited range of motion inflammation, disability, destruction of tissue, fluid collection, and pseudotumor development. These complications may necessitate revision surgery, a risky procedure associated with a difficult recovery.

Although revision surgery may fix problems associated with the defective Stryker LFIT hip, the process can be very difficult. If metal debris has compromised the surrounding bone and tissue, a surgeon may have to graft new bone in order to secure a new implant. Additionally, replacing the defective Stryker LFIT hip does not ensure that consumers will not need further surgeries or experience lasting side effects from the faulty implant.

David and his wife accuse Howmedica of negligence, negligence per se, strict products liability – defective design, strict products liability – failure to warn, breach of warranties, negligent misrepresentation, loss of consortium, unjust enrichment, and violation of state consumer protection laws. The lawsuit seeks compensatory damage, statutory damages, restitution and disgorgement, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The Defective Stryker LFIT Hip Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-11446-IT and is part of the Stryker LFIT MDL, In re: Stryker LFIT V40 Femoral Head Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 1:17-md-02768-IT, in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.