A new hip replacement lawsuit was recently filed in federal court alleging that Biomet’s metal on metal hip implant has a design defect that causes serious hip replacement problems in patients that have the device implanted.

Plaintiff Barbara L., a resident of Missouri, had hip implant surgery in Nov. 2009, where the Biomet metal on metal M2a Magnum prosthesis was implanted.

Barbara claims that shortly after the hip implant surgery, she began to suffer from serious hip replacement problems, experiencing such severe pain she had to undergo an expensive and painful revision surgery in order to replace the hip implant in Dec. 2015.

According to the hip replacement lawsuit, the M2a Magnum metal on metal hip implant has a defect that causes particles of cobalt and chromium to corrode from the surfaces of the implant. This corrosion negatively effects the surrounding tissues causing both the tissue and bone to die.

Barbara alleges that at the time of her hip implant surgery, Biomet knew their product was defective but refused to disclose that information to Barbara, her medical professional, or the general public.

She further claims that Biomet misrepresented the safety and effectiveness of the hip implant and states that she never would have selected the device if she had known the extent of the hip replacement problems associated with the device.

The Biomet lawsuit also suggests that the medical device company continued to defend and aggressively market their product even after they became aware of its defects.

Revision surgery puts patients at a much greater risk for complications compared the original hip replacement surgery. Some studies suggest that revision surgery causes patients to have a much greater risk of suffering from hip implant dislocation than the original implant surgery.

According to a study performed at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, 14.4 percent of patients suffered from dislocation after revision surgery compared to 3.9 percent of patients who did not need their original implant replaced.

Barbara’s hip replacement lawsuit is alleging claims for strict products liability, negligence, breach of warranty, and violation of unfair trade practices and consumer protection law. Barbara is asking damages related to her past and future lost wages, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and punitive damages.

Punitive damages are awarded in amounts beyond the actual injury of the plaintiff and are meant to punish the defendant for its wrongful acts.

Filing a Hip Replacement Lawsuit

Patients who have had a Biomet hip implant and had to have revision surgery due to hip replacement problems may be able to bring a hip replacement lawsuit against the product manufacturer. Potential claims against medical device manufacturers include strict products liability, design defect, negligence, failure to warn, fraud and misrepresentation, and breach of warranty.

The Biomet Hip Replacement Lawsuit is Case No. 3:16-cv-00136-RLM-CAN in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division.