An Oklahoma man recently joined growing litigation against Howmedica, alleging the medical device manufacturer’s Stryker LFIT hip implant is defective and caused him serious complications.

The plaintiff, Donald W., says he was implanted in his right hip with a Stryker LFIT hip implant known as the Accolade TMZF on July 30, 2007. Several years later, due to long lasting complications, Donald says he had the Stryker LFIT hip implant removed on July 16, 2014.

Donald claims that suffered from a problem known as metallosis when cobalt and chromium metals from the Stryker LFIT hip implant released into his body over time. According to his lawsuit, his blood work showed the elevated levels of these metals, explaining the pain he had suffered as a result for a long period of time.

Donald filed his Stryker LFIT hip implant lawsuit on Aug. 3, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including negligence, defective design, manufacturing defect, failure to warn, breach of express and implied warranties, and several others. Donald’s spouse also filed on one count of loss of consortium.

Stryker LFIT Hip Implant Basics

Hip surgery is one of the more common procedures in the United States, and is used to alleviate hip pain often caused by arthritis and hip fractures. Unfortunately, Stryker hip implants containing the LFIT V40 femoral head component have been associated with significant complications, including metallosis, a kind of metal poisoning that can occur when the two metal components of a metal-on-metal device rub together, releasing metal particles.

Excessive amounts of metal can travel through the blood and damage or kill off surrounding tissue and nearby bone.

Stryker LFIT Hip Implant Recall

Several Stryker implants were affected by the Stryker hip recall, including the Accolade TMZF, Accolade 2, Citation stems, and Meridian stems. The component common to all of these devices is the LFIT V40 femoral head, associated with device failure and related complications. Stryker hip implants have also been linked with dislocation and dissociation of the device.

Serious side effects like device failure or metallosis can require revision surgery to fix and replace the defective device. However, revision surgery brings with it its own risks and further medical expenses.

Filing a Stryker LFIT Hip Implant Lawsuit

If you or someone you love was implanted with a Stryker LFIT hip implant device and have since suffered from these or other side effects, you may be able to file a lawsuit. While filing a Stryker lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by hip implant defects, it can help to alleviate the financial burden of medical expenses and lost wages from these injuries.

The Stryker LFIT Hip Implant Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-11641-IT, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.