A lawsuit has been filed by a husband and wife after a recalled hip replacement allegedly led to personal injury and the need for a Stryker Accolade hip revision.

Husband and wife plaintiffs Arthur and Sarah S. are suing Howmedica Osteonics, a company doing business as Styker Orthopaedics and Stryker Corp. after experiencing problems with the Stryker metal hip implant.

According to this Stryker Accolade hip revision lawsuit, Arthur was implanted with the metal hip implant consisting of the TMZF Accolade stem and the Stryker LFIT Anatomic V40 Femoral Head in his left hip in April 2007.

The complaint states that as a direct and proximate result of having been implanted with the allegedly defective hip implants, Arthur suffers from “past, present and future physical and mental pain and suffering; and past, present and future medical, hospital, rehabilitative and pharmaceutical expenses, and other related damages.”

According to the Stryker lawsuit, the Accolade stem is made by using a proprietary titanium alloy that includes a mixture of the metals titanium, molybdenum, zinc and iron. Stryker claimed that the titanium alloy is both stronger and at the same time less rigid than other titanium alloys used in other metal hip implants. The femoral head used with the stem is made with a cobalt and chromium alloy.

After having been implanted with the allegedly defective Stryker metal hip components, Arthur says he began experiencing discomfort in his hip area. He had an MRI done of the area which found that a pseudotumor had developed in his left hip.

As a result, Arthur was required to undergo a Stryker Accolade hip revision surgery in August 2014. The findings from the operation indicated that “a hard, firm peach size pseudotumor in the inferior posterior aspect of the wound with metallosis of both the trunnion and the head” was found.

As a result, a new  femoral head made of ceramic was implanted during Arthur’s Stryker Accolade hip revision surgery “in order to avoid another cobalt chromium LFIT Anatomic V40 Femoral Head from interacting with the dissimilar metal titanium alloyed stem and to prevent further corrosive action.”

Stryker has since initiated a Class 2 Device Recall of the Stryker LFIT Anatomic V40 chromium/cobalt heads in November 2016. According to the FDA, the reason for the recall was noted as follows: “Stryker received several complaints describing incidents of harm secondary to taper lock failure for specific lots of numerous catalog numbers of LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 Femoral Heads.”

The recall states that reports of trunnion failure, adverse tissue reaction, metal wear and the need for Stryker Accolade hip revision surgery were reasons why the device was recalled. Arthur alleges to have suffered all of the issues which led to the product recall, and that these issues led to his need for Stryker Accolade hip revision surgery, the lawsuit states.

Arthur and Sarah have raised a number of allegations against Stryker including negligence, strict liability for failure to warn, design defect and manufacturing defect, breach of express and implied warranties, loss of consortium (spousal intimacy on behalf of Sarah and punitive damages. The couple is seeking relief by way of compensatory damages, actual damages, loss of consortium damages, punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, costs and expenses of litigation, attorneys’ fees and costs and any additional relief deemed just and proper by the Court.

The Stryker Accolade Hip Revision Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-00257-S-PAS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.