A Rhode Island resident has added to the growing pile of litigation against Stryker over an allegedly defective metal hip implant. The specific component of the implant involved in the Stryker lawsuit is the V40 femoral head.

The plaintiff, John G., alleges he was implanted with a right hip metal replacement on Nov. 22, 2004. The implant used is Stryker’s Accolade system, which uses a V40 femoral head component.

In 2012, Stryker recalled two of its other hip implant systems — the Rejuvenate and ABG II hip systems — in response to reports of excessive device failure. According to reports, implant failure was caused by fretting and corrosion of the metals where they joined between the stem and the V40 femoral head. These devices allegedly have much of the same designs, materials, and components of the Accolade System.

Though only the Rejuvenate and ABG II systems were recalled, the Accolade stem was abandoned in further iterations.

Unfortunately, patients may have already been seriously affected by device defects. Indeed, John G. alleges in his lawsuit that he began experiencing significant pain in his hip in 2015, leading to a right hip revision surgery in March 2016. During this surgery, doctors found that his implant dislocated due to excessive wear and tear of his Stryker hip device and V40 femoral head. The failure of the V40 femoral head and device led to extreme and ongoing pain in his right hip, which necessitated revision surgery.

John filed his V40 femoral head lawsuit on Dec. 19, 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. The Stryker lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including negligence, negligence per se, defective design, manufacturing defect, and failure to warn, among others.

James is far from the first patient to file a lawsuit over Stryker V40 femoral heads, claiming to have suffered serious side effects.

Stryker V40 Femoral Head Side Effects

Unfortunately, the Stryker V40 femoral head and the Accolade system has been associated with a variety of serious complications, including metallosis, a kind of metal poisoning.

Patients claim to have suffered from a number of serious and potentially permanent injuries including the following:

• Hip implant failure
• Serious physical pain
• Metallosis (metal poisoning)
• Dislocation or dissociation
• Emotional and mental distress
• Medical and surgical expenses
• Loss of enjoyment of life

Patients can end up undergoing revision surgery to help alleviate these problems. Of course, any additional surgery adds yet more risk and expense for a patient.

Filing a Stryker V40 Femoral Head Lawsuit

If you or someone you love was implanted with a metal hip implant that uses a Stryker V40 femoral head and have since suffered from these or other side effects, you may be able to file a lawsuit.

Although filing a lawsuit cannot undo the damage done by complications of a defective Stryker V40 femoral head, it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.

The V40 Femoral Head Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-00587-WES-LDA, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.