A plaintiff, Robert H., has brought forward a civil action regarding a Stryker LFIT metal hip implant, alleging that the company is responsible for defective design or manufacturing that led to his serious injuries. The spouse in that case is also pursuing a claim due to the alleged damages caused by the Stryker LFIT metal hip implant.

LFIT Metal Hip Implant Targeted by Injured Patients

This is not the first and is unlikely to be the last legal action brought against the company’s manufacturers for allegedly defective products that have injured patients. Medical device manufacturers may fail to fully test their implants before bringing them to market, leaving the patients to pay the price in the form of complications and side effects.

The plaintiff in this case received an LFIT metal hip implant, including a V40 Femoral Head developed by Stryker, in September 2015 in Michigan. He received the Accolade 2 model. It was explanted in November 2016 in Michigan after the plaintiff reported serious pain and other problems.

The plaintiff raises several different claims against Stryker, including negligence, breach of implied warranty, strict product liability, defective design, strict product liability manufacturing defect, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of implied warranty, among others.

The Stryker LFIT metal hip implant has been associated with a number of different problems and complaints brought forward by those patients who received it. A voluntary recall of certain sizes of their metal hip implant was initiated in January 2009 by Stryker. The LFIT V40 Heads were subject to a voluntary recall in August 2016 because of a higher than usual incident rate of taper lock failure.

The metal debris generated by the LFIT metal hip implant can lead to an inflammatory response inside the patient’s body or adverse local tissue reaction that may prompt the patients to get revision surgery to remove or replace the problematic component.

One of the clearest indications of the problems with the LFIT metal hip implant is that when the replacement begins to fail, the metal components inside may corrode or grind together. As the chromium metal and cobalt used to make the device break down and enter the patient’s bloodstream, metallosis or other severe side effects may develop.

A patient might not even realize what is happening to him or her until the side effects become debilitating. Since the side effects can vary from one patient to another, it’s important for anyone who has received an LFIT metal hip implant to note major changes in their psychological or physical condition.

Painful Side Effects Often Linked to the LFIT Model

Some of the most common side effects reported by those patients who have received the LFIT metal hip implant include:

• Weakness
• Tissue death
• Fatigue
• Blood poisoning due to metal
• Cognitive dysfunction
• Neuropathy
• Hearing and visual impairment
• Vertigo

The Stryker LFIT Metal Hip Implant Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-CV-10288 filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.