A plaintiff came forward to file a new Stryker LFIT lawsuit against the Howmedica Osteonics Corp., manufacturers of the Stryker LFIT Anatomic Cobalt-Chromium V40 Femoral Head.

The plaintiff, Rosalind T., is a citizen and resident of the state of Massachusetts. She filed the new Stryker LFIT lawsuit on April 4, 2018 in U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts.

In the Stryker LFIT lawsuit short-form complaint, Rosalind claims to have experienced grave injury secondary to her implantation with the LFIT V40 femoral head into her right hip which took place on April 6, 2009.

Rosalind says that her hip replacement was undertaken at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston by Dr. James V. Bono, an orthopedic surgeon. The femoral stem used during the surgery was the Accolade TMZF, she says.

Also, according to the Stryker LFIT lawsuit documentation, the plaintiff claims personal injury related to implantation of the LFIT V40 femoral head and Accolade TMZF femoral stem into her left hip. This total hip replacement surgery was done at the same hospital and by the same surgeon on Jan. 25, 2010.

The short-form Stryker LFIT lawsuit narrative indicates that Rosalind had the left hip device explanted first on June 5, 2017 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston by Dr. Kevin Raskin, Orthopedic Surgeon.

Seven months later, on Jan. 25, 2018, she had the device in the right hip explanted due to severe complications. This was also done at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, but the surgeon is not identified in this case.

In addition to the personal injury the plaintiff claims for the bilateral failure of the LFIT V40 femoral heads, she alleges financial harm secondary to the need for total hip revision surgeries separated by just a few months’ time.

Rosalind is raising claims based on theories of negligence, strict products liability, breach of warranty, fraud, and violations of state consumer protection laws. She also seeks an award of punitive damages.

Plaintiff’s Purported Injuries

While specifics of Rosalind’s bilateral LFIT V40 femoral head and Accolade TMZF femoral stem failure are missing in the short-form complaint, the master complaint for the MDL alleges that this medical device combination promoted corrosion.

This corrosion is due to the stem’s composition of titanium alloy used with the LFIT V40’s cobalt-chromium makeup. Although fretting and release of metal debris into the tissues surrounding the joint were found to be a normal defect of most metal-on-metal hip prosthetics, the situation was amplified in units of this combination of materials.

Corrosion and metal blood poisoning have been shown to produce swelling, pain, increase chances of dislocation and fracture, and promote heart disease and cancer. The plaintiff is seeking compensatory and statutory damages that included monies for court and attorney’s fees.

The Stryker LFIT Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-10650-IT in U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts.