A couple from New York is joining a growing multidistrict litigation after allegedly suffering serious metal on metal hip implant injuries from the V40 Stryker femoral head.

The lawsuit alleges the all metal hip implant components caused severe and long lasting injuries, which greatly impacted their quality of life.

Plaintiff Orlando B. and his wife Xenia B. jointly filed this Stryker metal hip lawsuit after discovering a number of other patients allegedly suffered similar injuries, and that the V40 Stryker femoral head used in Orlando’s procedure had been recalled.

According to the Stryker metal hip lawsuit, Orlando had the LFIT Anatomic CoCr V40 Femoral Head implanted on his left hip for typical treatment purposes on March 21, 2014.

Not long after the procedure, Orlando reportedly developed a number of serious side effects including complications related to metallosis. Also known as blood metal poisoning, according to the Food and Drug Administration, this condition typically occurs when a dangerous amount of metal enters the bloodstream and causes biological imbalances.

Metallosis has become widely associated with metal on metal hip implants, due to the metal ions being shed into the bloodstream from the all metal components of the prosthetic. This can cause a number of serious complications including, but not limited to:

• Fretting
• Corrosion
• Infection
• Inflammation
• Debilitating Pain
• Limited Range of Motion
• Tissue Death surrounding Implant
• Formation of Pseudotumors
• Disassociation of Femoral Head from Hip Stem
• Fractured Hip Stem Trunnion

Even though these complications can be devastating, they were allegedly not disclosed to Orlando at the time he was recommended the device. Orlando and Xenia say they did not learn of these complications until after the V40 Stryker femoral head was recalled and have yet to schedule a revision surgery for this device.

Overview of Stryker Metal Hip Implant Complications

Stryker
issued a recall of its LFIT Cobalt/Chromium V40 femoral heads after receiving a higher number of injury reports than expected.

The complications reported by patients were similar to the problems associated with the company’s Rejuvenate and ABG II modular hip replacement systems, which are also metal on metal hip implants.

According to the FDA, the Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II hip replacements were recalled after a large number of patients reportedly developed complications from corrosion and fretting, which caused many patients to develop metallosis and caused the need for revision surgery.

Metal on metal hip implants have been associated with high failure rates and large injury report numbers for years. According to a 2012 study published in medical journal Orthopedics, 95 percent of patients with failed all metal hip implants had to undergo revision surgery within three years of getting the devices implanted.

It is important to note that revision surgery is considered riskier than the initial implant surgery due to a higher risk of infection.

Even though metal on metal hip implant complications can be devastating for patients, Stryker allegedly failed to disclose this information to the public. Orlando and Xenia’s Stryker metal hip lawsuit is joining MDL No. 2768, where it will stand alongside other claims describing similar injuries.

Orlando and Xenia are seeking multiple damages from Stryker, including counts of negligence and failure to warn.

This Stryker Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-md-02768-IT, in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts.